


Crystal Blood On Butterfly Wings

by melovecats



Category: D.Gray Man, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead is So Done, Aizawa and Present Mic may or may not be in a relationship, Allen Walker can't draw for shit, Allen has one too!, Dabi is a Todoroki, Dad for One is definitely going to be a thing in this, Daisya Barry Lives, F/M, I'm Bad At Summaries, Izuku will develop a crush as soon as he sees her, Izuku will probably not realize it's a crush but know it is one?, Lenalee Lee is a Badass, Malcolm C. Lvellie is an Asshole, Midoriya Izuku & Uraraka Ochako Friendship, Parental Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Protective Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Reader Has a Quirk (My Hero Academia), Reader adopts Uraraka, Reader befriends everyone in class, Reader has a lot of nicknames for everyone in Class 1-A, Reader has no idea what a crush is at first, Reader is SLIGHTLY better but not by much, Reader is actually an OC, Reader is also female - Freeform, Reader is named, Reader will have a set appearance, Slow Burn, Sorry again, Title may or may not change, Todoroki Enji | Endeavor Is An Asshole, Unrequited Crush, Well - Freeform, and Izuku, and pretty much everyone in the class, besides Mineta - Freeform, but it will only be revealed at the end!, but maybe not the way you think it's going to go, especially with Reader, everyone in D.Gray Man needs a hug, everything after this point is available for me to mess around with!, her quirk will be revealed later, i blame my sibling for that idea, i don't know how that's going to end up, i finally decided that they're going to be twins, i repeat shit is officially going down in the D.Gray Man side of things, i'm sorry Uraraka!, it's hidden as well, my hands take control of the reigns most of the time while writing, okay i've decided, reader has ptsd, she can be a little shit, she just doesn't know it, shit is officially going down in the D.Gray Man side of things, so i mentioned that Reader and Allen are siblings, so that means the Reader is the oldest in the class, so this should be interesting, sorry - Freeform, summary may or may not change!, this is a crossover with D.Gray Man!, we have officially gone past the last chapter of D.Gray Man, yay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:13:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 22
Words: 168,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23062276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melovecats/pseuds/melovecats
Summary: A young Exorcist runs from the Order when Allen Walker is attacked and eventually finds herself in Japan, alone and with no home to turn back to. With her older brother still out in the world just as alone she is, running from three powerful and dangerous groups of people, she has no choice but to hide in Japan.With all the Akuma terrorizing the country and her being the only one who could destroy them, the Exorcist decides to fight against the Akuma. She is soon discovered by two Pro Heros, and now she's going to school? With a bunch of teenagers whose dreams are to become Heros?! Oh no, this isn't going to be good...summary may or may not change! who knows?
Relationships: Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead & Eri, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead & Reader, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead & Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead/Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Bakugou Katsuki/Uraraka Ochako, Midoriya Izuku/Reader, Todoroki Shouto/Allen Walker
Comments: 40
Kudos: 64





	1. Warnings

hello everybody! this is actually my first My Hero Academia fanfiction, so please be nice! before i start posting the actual story, i've got a few things you should know first if you didn't read the tags.

1) this will be a crossover with D.Gray Man. the very first chapter will be pretty much a shift from a D.Gray Man setting to My Hero Academia for the Reader. for those of you who don't know what D.Gray Man is, don't worry, there won't be much D.Gray Man scenes until MUCH later in the story besides here and there. so if you want to, you can go read it while/before reading this. just saying, there are major spoilers for those who don't want to read it and you will be confused. for readers who hasn't seen D.Gray Man and don't want to, jump until you see ***** if you want to know what it's about.

2) the Reader is actually taking the place of one of the characters in D.Gray Man. the character is still alive, and will eventually appear. pretty much everyone in D.Gray Man will eventually appear, by either flashbacks or POV switches.

3) there will be a lot of scenes where it's not exactly how it went down in canon. when that happens, just know that i forgot how it exactly went down and went back into the series after writing it and decided that i was keeping it the way i wrote it. 

4) Aizawa and Present Mic may or may not be in a relationship. i'm not someone who ships them together, but i support all kinds of ships here. i didn't say if they are or not, so if you do ship them together, have fun. i also do not know if they live together canon wise, but they are in this story. at the same time, if you don't ship them, feel free to just see them as roommates. 

5) the Reader has PTSD. like, really bad PTSD. this will be shown in almost all the chapters. if you are uncomfortable reading the bad things that happen to her, then i'm sorry, this is not the story for you. certain things in the story will trigger memories for the Reader to pop up, and some of those are extremely violent. if you have triggers involving violence and labs/hospitals, then PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS. i repeat; PLEASE _**DO NOT**_ READ THIS. 

6) the Reader is Allen's younger sister in this. they're about a year apart, and they both have hidden quirks. their quirks are similar, like almost the exact same quirk with minor differences. i will not tell you what their quirks will be until the end, possibly. if i don't find a good spot fitting their quirk reveals into the fic, i will tell you all at the end of the story. ((heyo! this is an edit! i have decided that the Reader will actually be Allen's twin sister, because i realized it would have been a bit weird for their parents to have a kid about a year apart and lose both of them, while not knowing about the Order.))

7) this will be a story pretty much about a child soldier learning how to be a person. the Reader has a personality, but there are a lot of things emotionally that she doesn't understand. like i said in the tags, she will not know what a crush is. she doesn't know what flirting is, either. and at some point, she will get with Izuku, but it's far off into the story. 

8) i will _**NOT**_ be writing any smut. i am uncomfortable writing that, so if you're expecting some, be disappointed. this will be a fluffy story with lots of angst. you have all seen My Hero Academia; there is a lot of brief angsty times in the series, and D.Gray Man is literally about a war against demons, so yeah. sorry for all the angst, but it is necessary.

9) my first language is English, and i don't know much about the Japanese culture and language, so i won't be adding on the honorifics they have. i don't have any confidence that i can use them correctly, so they will be absent. i will try my best with their culture despite knowing only a few things, so i'm really sorry if there's any errors. i literally have no clue what i'm doing when it comes to Japanese culture, so i'm so sorry to any that get offended by it. and i know it might seem silly for saying that people will get offended, but people can get offended over everything. and to those who will get offended over me not getting their culture right; i am sorry. i don't know much about Japanese culture, and yet i am writing a story with it in it because i want to share an idea i have. please do not flame me for that, for i am trying with how little i have and i will also be doing some research. though, it will be hard to do research, because i have no idea what i'm looking for and Google is my only reliable tool, and even then it isn't that reliable at times.

10) Heros and the governments will know about the Black Order and the Akuma. they are the only people outside of supporters and the staff among the Order who knows about them. however, almost all the teachers of U.A. will not know that the Reader is an Exorcist. 

11) D.Gray Man is set in the late 1800's. because this is a crossover with My Hero Academia, it will be set in the same time that My Hero Academia is set in. that means that i will be making Edo a place here. i know historically that Edo was once Tokyo, but since these two mangas are set in different times, i will be changing it up a little. Edo will be some sort of small island that is officially apart of Japan. that way, the events in D.Gray Man can happen here while still making My Hero Academia as canon as possible.

12) since the Reader is actually an OC of mine, she has a set appearance, gender and name. you will still be able to put in your own appearance, like (e/c) eyes and (h/c) hair, but you will only get to see what she actually looks like at the very end. i will be using her actual name instead of (Y/n) (L/n), so sorry. also, i apologize to you guy readers. as you can all see, the Reader will be female. sorry.

and that's all i have now. i will be posting the first chapter next week and continue doing so until the posting schedule catches up with how fast my writing is and how much motivation i have. when that happens, i will go on a temporary hiatus until i have a good amount of chapters stocked up. after that, i will continue with the posting schedule until the process repeats. i already have the first chapter ready, but i wanted to give people some time finding this first. sorry about that. 

***** *******

D.Gray Man is pretty much about humanity fighting against demons. the demons are called Akuma, made by an immortal man named the Earl of Millennium. he is the head of a powerful and immortal family called the Clan of Noah. their goal is to destroy humanity with Akuma, who are a mixture of machinery, Dark Matter, and human souls. Dark Matter is an evil substance the Noahs all have in them. it's very dangerous to organic beings, and can turn you into ash within a minute. once you are called back from the dead, the Earl forces you to kill the loved one who called you back to the land of the living and use their corpses as disguises. from then on, you're an Akuma and must obey every command he gives you, including hunting gown humans. the only thing that can destroy Akuma is Dark Matter's opposite; Innocence, God's holy weapon.

now, most of humanity doesn't know about the war. 200 years ago in D.Gray Man, a group of people found out about the Earl and formed an organization whose goal is to stop the Earl from destroying humanity. the only people who can stop him are people who are chosen by the Innocence to wield it, who are known as Accommodators/Exorcists. the Black Order hunted them down and forced them to fight against the Akuma, all while keeping it a secret from the rest of humanity. also, they are headed by the Pope, and their headquarters are pretty much churches. giant churches.

********

that's all for today! i really hope you all come back next week when i post the first chapter, and i really hope you all like it. have a good day/night, and you're all AWESOME! XP


	2. Chapter 1

You watched from Timcanpy’s open mouth as the Innocence snarled up at you. Apocryphos roared as Tim closed his mouth, being led by Tykki. You scooted back until you hit Allen’s chest. He wrapped an arm around you, squeezing you and Road closer to him and putting his head onto your head.

With a loud thump, you landed on a small cliff outside the headquarters. Your head banged with Allen’s, and you both let out a grunt of pain. “Ow,” you whispered, curling up into a ball. Timcanpy bounced, bouncing the three people in his mouth as Tykki ran. After a few minutes of this, Tykki came to a complete stop, causing you to yelp as you fell towards Timcanpy’s teeth. “Shit!” Allen shouted as he landed on you. “Crap, you ok?” You nodded as you pushed him off.

Timcanpy opened his mouth and spat you three out. You shuddered as you felt saliva drip off of you, making you gag a little. “Oh, that is just disgusting!” Tykki turned the other way in disgust as you tried your best to wipe the saliva off. “Shut up, Tykki!” Allen growled as he sat up. You stood up and glanced around as the two males behind you started fighting. Trees surrounded you with the Black Order headquarters far off in the distance. Plumes of smoke rose up from the hole Tykki made when you escaped. You swallowed nervously. “Hey guys,” The shouting stopped as you turned around, “What are we going to do now?”

Allen blinked as he tore his arm out of Tykki’s grip. “I...I don’t know. We can’t go back there, or else the Order will kill us if Apocryphos doesn’t get to us first. And NO, I am NOT going with you, Tykki.” He glared at the Noah, who simply raised his hands up in a peaceful gesture. “And I am most definitely not letting you cut off my arm, thank you! Not after the last time!” You blinked in confusion. “Wait, that was you?!”

“We aren’t talking about this right now!” Tykki shouted at you. You scoffed under your breath. You quietly watched from the edge of the clearing as Tykki and Allen continued to argue. A small light in the corner of your eye caught your attention, and you turned to observe Road. Allen had laid her against Timcanpy a few minutes ago, and she hadn’t moved since. You were slightly worried; she protected Allen from a powerful punch, and now she was immobile. _Just how strong WAS that Innocence?_

You gasped softly as Road’s body began to glow. “Hey, boys? You need to see this!” The two turned and followed your pointed finger, jumping into action when their gazes landed on the small Noah. “Oh shit,” Tykki mumbled as Allen knelt beside her. “What’s going on?! Tykki?”

“Apocryphos damaged her Noah memories; she can’t keep her physical body together much longer,” He replied, wincing as her body broke apart into bubbles. “So, she’s dying?” You ask hesitatingly. The Noah shook his head. “More like going into a coma for a while until her memories are fully healed. Depending on how hard Apocryphos hit her and how much Innocence he used behind it, she’ll be out of the game for a while.”

You glanced at Allen as Road started talking. You couldn’t hear what she was saying due to your distance, but you couldn’t do anything as Road’s body disappeared. You closed your eyes as the wind blowed through the trees, bringing with it a scent of daffodils, and when you opened them, Tykki was gone and Allen had stood up. He turned to you with a pained and serious expression. “We need to leave, now. It’s already here.”

With that, he turned and started running towards the town nearby. You blinked in surprise and ran after him. He grabbed Timcanpy’s tail, much like how Tykki did earlier, revealing a patch of dying daisies. You jumped over it as you followed your brother. At some point, you saw a blinding light up ahead of you two, and the trees parted to reveal an Ark gate. You two entered it, and Allen immediately destroyed the gate. As the door crumbled, you glanced at Allen. 

He was breathing heavily, still recovering from the fight with the Innocence only moments before. “Allen?” His silver eyes snapped to you and his face softened slightly. “I’m fine, really.” Your eyes narrowed into your skeptical look. “Really?” Allen opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, you heard shouts in the distance. Both your heads snapped to the direction it came from. “Isn’t that where the HQ door is?” You asked. Allen nodded. You stayed quiet before realization hit you both.

“SHIT!” You yelled and Allen booked it to the Musician’s Room, you close at his heels. You were halfway there when a shout behind you startled you. “I think I saw him!” You immediately activated your boots and grabbed Allen, taking off towards the room. You skidded to a halt, stopping a few inches away from the mirror. Allen closed the doors quickly, and the wooden slabs locked automatically. You huffed out a breath of air as the muffled shouts became louder. 

You watched as Timcanpy lazily shrank until he was the size of your palm and you turned to the mirror. Laying a gloved hand on it, you sighed. “So, what now?” You asked. Allen groaned as he leaned his forehead on the cool wood of the door. “I honestly have no idea other than run.”

You smiled at his reflected back sadly. "Are you?"

“I have to. You, however,” He turned to you, meeting your eyes in the mirror, “Don’t have to.” You tilted your head in confusion. “What..do you mean?” You really did not like where this was going. “I’m gonna get you hurt at some point if you stay with me. Plus, the Order might think you’re a traitor as well. They will probably think I betrayed them since some of them probably saw us leave. I don’t want to drag you into this mess more than I probably have.” You slowly turned to face him, your smile gone. He had started pacing at this point, one hand running through his hair as he continued rambling. “It would be better if you went into hiding so they can’t find you, and if you were with me, they could catch you and torture information out of you an-”

“Allen, I am NOT leaving you alone.” You cut in with a stern face and tone. “No matter what you say, I will not run away from you. You’re my brother, and like hell will I let my only blood family be separated from me again.” Allen stared at you as you put your hands on your hips. “So, what should we do first? Find some food since you’ve been starving yourself or find a place to sleep?”

* * *

You woke up slowly, groaning as you shifted on the bed. Peeling your eyes open, you blearily looked around the space you could see from your position. Slowly sitting up and stretching, you looked around the hotel room, searching for the mop of white hair you called your brother. You rubbed your eyes tiredly, and tried again. He wasn’t in the room. In fact, Timcanpy was nowhere in sight, as well. ‘Maybe he went to go get breakfast.’ You thought as you stood up, ignoring a bad feeling in your gut as you went and started a bath.

You ignored it even as you dried your body and clothed yourself in your Exorcist uniform. You ignored it as you waited at the window of the hotel room for him for what felt like hours. You ignored it as the sun slowly climbed higher in the sky every second.

Finally, sighing as you went, you put your heels on and left the room. Entering the elevator, you pushed a button and waited the few seconds it took to go to the first level. During which, you spent taking out a key chain hidden in your over sized sleeve and gazed at in worry. The doors opened with a ding and you walked out, quickly holding the door for an elderly couple a few feet away from the doors. 

Walking up to the receptionist in the front desk, you held a key on the key chain out to her. On it was a picture of your brother. “Excuse me, but have you seen this man? He came in with me last night, and had a golden ball with wings and a tail on his shoulder. Did he leave by any chance?”

“Ah, yes, he left this morning at the crack of dawn. He said he left a bunch of money in your room for you. I don’t think he’s coming back ma’am.” You blinked in shock as realization sank into you. You quickly thanked her and ran towards the stairs, doubting the elevator would be fast enough for your standards. Opening the door, your eyes quickly scanned the area, your stomach dropping even more in despair. You didn’t find anything out in the open, so you turned to the nightstand in between your beds. Opening the first drawer didn’t reveal anything hidden besides a bible, so you closed that one and opened the second. There, a bundle of money Allen probably stole sat wrapped with a note attached to it. 

You snatched it with a shaking hand and slowly peeled off the sticky note, turning it around to read the message.

_‘I’m sorry. I had to. Use this money to get food and find somewhere to stay low. I’ll try and contact you when I’m not backed into a corner.’_

You felt the burning sensation of tears stinging at your eyes before you broke down into quiet, gentle sobs. Your (e/c) eyes continued to scan the sticky note before tears dripped onto the paper. You shakily placed the note on the nightstand and sat there on your knees with tears streaming down your face and arms limp by your side. You felt completely numb, and it was probably hours before you were snapped out of your despair by your stomach rumbling.

You glanced at the money Allen had left for you and sighed as you slowly reached for it. It was Russian money that he stole just the night before so you two could spend a night at a hotel you found. Thankfully, you both knew fluent Russian, so you were able to get a room with almost no fuss.

Groaning as you got up, you headed out the door to find some food, hopefully before you passed out. As you headed out, you started counting the money in your hands. Humming, you counted up to a hundred and fifty ruble. You didn’t know how much a plane ticket is, and you needed to fix your golem and get new clothes, so you probably have to steal some to save money. As much as you really didn’t want to, you had to to stay alive and to get out of the country before the Order finds you again.

Sighing as you entered the elevator yet again, you stuffed the money into your jacket sleeve and headed for the first floor. 

You really hoped you wouldn't get caught...

* * *

You paced around your hotel room, munching on a slice of pizza that you found at an American place. The pizza box was laying open on Allen’s bed, and another box lay next to it. It was latched closed, but when you moved it, muffled clunks of metal would be emitted from it. You had found a shop filled with toolboxes and machinery, and you quickly nabbed a toolbox on your way back to the hotel. You were going to give it back..as soon as you were done with it, of course.

You glanced at your golem. It sat on your bed, it’s blank screen staring back at you. You were going to fix it so you can have it on while you travel and not have to worry about being tracked, but you haven’t touched it with a tool yet. Thankfully, your earring had already been worked on by Komui, so you didn’t have to fool around with it.

You finished off your slice and sat on your bed, still staring at the golem. Picking it up, you turned it so you could see it’s screen. Sighing, you stroked the top of the black object. It reminded you of rubber, but it wasn’t sticky like it. It was more like a cross between rubber and plastic, and unfortunately, you had no idea what it was actually made of.

"Oh, what am I going to do, Pandora?"

_-A golem was shoved into your face as you sat on a metal table. “Here” Komui said as he handed you the bat like device, “This is to help you while you fight. We have noticed that you have a hard time fighting unless there is a beat involved. Don’t ask me how we managed to figure that out, because I won’t be able to tell you. Try training with it on.” You stared at the blank screen with an unreadable face. “What does it do?”_

_“Turn it on, and find out.”_

_You pressed the screen with the pad of your finger, and it flickered to life. Bat wings appeared much like the Snitch in_ Harry Potter _would during a game and a single, black eye stared back at you. You tapped the screen again, and a hologram appeared before your face. It startled you, and you dropped the golem. It’s wings flapped quickly, allowing it to hover in front of you. You tilted your head quizidly and studied the holographic screen before you. Names of songs you recognised stared back at you, and you gasped. Slowly reaching out a finger, you tapped a song name. The hologram disappeared, and the screen on the golem turned red. Music began pouring out of invisible speakers._

_You glanced up at Komui and your master, then looked back at the golem in awe. “Well? Do you like it?” You felt the corner of your lips twitch slightly before they slowly pulled your lips into a genuine smile. Tears bubbled up in your eyes, and you glance up at the two men before you again._

_“I’m gonna call it Pandora.”-_

You rubbed the tears that appeared in your eyes away before grabbing the toolbox and lugging it over to your bed, closing the box of pizza in the process. You opened it and grabbed a screwdriver, opening the back of Pandora with it. Wires and machinery greeted your eyes and you got to work.

“I should go somewhere where there aren't a lot of crimes happening, where local authorities are a bit lazy with small robberies happening here and there. But where?” You paused and tilted your head. “Maybe I can turn you into something like a Google; you’re already something like a map and a Mp3 player, so why not?” With a shrug, you returned back to your work. “I need to gain more money, and I can’t do that unless I find work or steal. I’m probably going to have to steal since I don’t have any official education, and most places don’t hire unless you do have that. Which is going to take a while if I go that route. I also need new clothes; I should probably do that soon.” You hummed as you leaned back to inspect your work. 

“I think that’ll do it! Now, lets turn you on and see how you’re doing.”

You closed Pandora and tapped the screen. You watched with excitement as Pandora woke up. It fluttered in front of you and you tapped the screen again, quickly going into the settings file on your golem. It seemed you had succeeded in turning off the locator Central required all golems to have, and you smiled. 

You turned it off and unscrewed the back off. Picking up where you left off, you quickly tried to turn Pandora into a device similar to Google without making huge mistakes. You blinked, pausing in your work once again when a thought hit you. “Wait, I could just go to Japan!”

* * *

You stepped off the plane and stretched, waiting patiently for your turn to be searched. You already had your luggage that you stole back in Russia with you, and once you got to security, you put your bag on the counter to be searched while you went through the metal detector. You then handed over your fake passport. Once they were satisfied, though they glanced suspiciously at your anklets, you immediately wandered around for a money exchange place in the airport. Humming to yourself as you left the airport, you walked down the street, looking for a taxi. 

You waved one down, and as you were climbing in, you felt a boom shake the ground. The driver yelped and your head immediately snapped up to look for any danger. Screams echoed out of the airport, and you heard gunshots silence several voices. 'No, nonono this isn't good!' You thought and started running towards the doors leading back to the airport. 'Dammit, I really should have expected this! Innocence; activate!'

With a burst of power familiar and not, the Dark Boots activated just as you burst through the doors. You immediately jumped, flying straight towards a Level 3. It turned its head towards you as your foot punched through it. You twisted, tearing its head as your other foot hit it again, and the head flew through the air. You immediately brought your leg down through the body of the Akuma, tearing it in half. Jumping away, you landed near a blonde woman and covered her mouth and nose before she could breathe in the now toxic air. "Run!"

You jumped away from her before you could see if she followed your order. Blocking an attack from another Akuma with your leg, you kicked it away, causing you to speed through the air to the wall of the building.

At this point, all the Akuma had noticed you, and were now leaving the civilians alone. Unfortunately, that meant they were now swarming you. Gritting your teeth, you jumped off the wall, your golem following and playing music as you flipped in the air. You slammed your foot into a Level 2, and it created a crater in the tiles below you with a boom.

Twisting in midair, you kicked a Level 1 into another one just as a Level 3 tried punching you. Using the same leg as you twisted around, you blocked it and used your free one to kick it away, propelling you into a flip. Landing feet first onto a Level 3, you pushed it into the ground, causing another crater to form under you. You jumped to the side, dodging another attack and sent a tornado above you. 

The Akuma screamed as they were sucked into the twisting wind. Leaping away from the two Akumas in front of you, you scanned the building. You couldn't see anyone else; they were either already outside the building or under rubble. You grunted as you aimed a kick at the Akuma’s chest when the beat dropped in the song Pandora was playing. It flew back into the Akuma behind it and you followed, aiming kick after kick at the first one whenever it pushed itself off of the one under it.

It eventually exploded, and you heard the wind swish behind you. You quickly dodged, flipping over so your feet met the face of the Level 2, and the punch collided into its stomach. Its upper body instinctively moved towards your feet, allowing them to punch a hole into it's head. You crouched and jumped as the Akuma exploded, flinging the freed Akuma from the tornado back a few feet. You flipped your body so you could crouch on the ceiling and glanced down.

‘There’s no giant hunks of rubble, so I’m assuming there’s no one around, but just in case…’

“Pandora?” The black golem turned to you. “Is there anyone trapped in this building?”

The music cut off, and a white, holographic light shot out of Pandora’s screen. It scanned the area below you as the Akuma recovered from the explosion. It disappeared, and Pandora shook itself in a negative motion. Smirking, you gathered power into your legs, green lightning emitting from your armored boots. “Good.”

* * *

Sighing as you flopped onto your new hotel bed, you turned on the T.V. in the corner. The news had already picked apart the incident at the airport earlier and you watched as they and several Pro Heros tried to make sense of the utter destruction of the main building and toxic air. You huffed in tired amusement as they went through witness reports, and you actually got to see that woman you talked to in the airport on screen.

‘Wait, hold on-’ You took another close look at the woman. 'Is that..Mount Lady? In civilian clothes? Well holy shit,' You thought and settled back into the bed you laid on. 'Looks like I saved a hero. Guess that's why the civilians got out that fast.' Yawning, you turned it off and fell asleep.

* * *

You huffed as you followed the trail up the mountain, Pandora flapping beside your head. You were going through your daily patrol, and it was now sometime in the afternoon. You paused in your walking and glanced around, ears picking up some kind of noise. You couldn't tell if an animal was making that sound or if it was an Akuma, but you tapped at Pandora's screen. The soft music stopped.

"Pandora, scan."

A minute later, it nodded with a small beep. "Akuma?" Again, another nod. You jumped as a bullet whizzed past where you were once standing, your boots activating instantly and you sent a tornado at the Akuma. 

It tore through the trees and made the Akuma fly backwards. A horde of Akuma, all Level 3, shot out of the bush. “God dammit, why?” You groaned and glared at the Akuma. “Waltz: Mist Wind!” You dropped to the ground and twisted your body, holding it up by your arms and performing the movement like a hip hop dancer. What came from your boots was a much larger twister than before and caught all the Akuma in it.

You stopped twisting your body in a circle and flipped back onto your feet, (e/c) eyes staring straight at the Akuma. You ran as soon as you regained your balance towards them, one step, then another, and you crouched on the third. Gathering power into your legs, you pushed off the ground and shot towards the Akuma, leaving large cracks in the earth below.

Flipping, you slammed your foot into the nearest Level 3, forcing it down before you kicked it into another Level 3. They slammed into a tree as two more replaced them. You twisted in midair and dropped to the ground, leaping away from the bullets racing towards you. You gritted your teeth and as you slammed your foot into the ground, causing you to slow to a stop and the earth to crack and rise up behind you. Your blood red boots’ temperature rose, and the earth around you started to turn to mush. Exhaling out, you whispered quietly as the mud and rock started to lazily swirl around you. “Waltz: Terre Wind.”

You planted your hands on the ground and swung your legs in a circle under you. You expertly moved your arms out of the way of your legs. As you did this, the swirling earth around you turned into a giant tornado of flying rock and mud. The Akuma had flown above you while you were prepping, and now was stuck in a cage of Innocence fused rock. You grinned as you heard their screeches and slowed to a stop. 

The Akuma fell from their places in the sky, dazed from the rocks hitting them just as hard as you would, and you jumped towards the closest one. Kicking your foot straight through, you used the explosions to propel yourself to the next and repeat your actions. Just as you were performing a roundhouse kick on the last one, it grabbed your leg and twisted around, throwing you into the earth below while screaming curses. 

You bit back a scream as you landed, and you quickly rolled onto your feet, narrowly dodging a punch that had been sent your way.

You stood up quickly and brought your leg up high next to your head. You swung your foot down with all your strength, and it hit the Akuma’s back as it was trying to stand. You slammed it into the ground, causing a giant crater to form yet again, and you stepped on its back. You quickly slammed your feet into the head and torso of the Akuma and jumped away. It exploded as soon as your feet left its body.

As you landed, you heard a rumbling sound and your head shot up. Shouts in the distance reached your ears, and you quickly shot up into the air. Your face paled at what you saw.

Land slid down the small mountain, and you could see several Heros trying to stop it. Cursing under your breath, you shot towards the bottom of the mountain, hoping to get them out from there before they could be killed. 

You landed near a man with shaggy, black hair and a weird looking scarf and leaped toward him. Pushing him out of the way, you grabbed him and tugged him down the small mountain. He let out a grunt, and you easily threw him so he was a few feet behind you. Facing the top of the mountain, noticing that all the Heros were already down, you crouched. “Waltz; Mist Wind!”

Twisting your body while standing fluidly, you jumped and angled yourself so your feet would be facing the oncoming landslide. You started spinning in a twisting motion, legs kicking out to make tornadoes and your feet meeting the ground for only a few seconds to jump.

You stopped when someone put their hand on your shoulder. The tornados dissipated on their own, and you could clearly see the earth that was fast approaching had been blown away. Sighing harshly, you slowly turned to meet stern black eyes.

“Who the _hell_ are you?”

* * *

Your (e/c) eyes gazed at your (s/c) hands, which were chained together. You had some movement, so you could play with your fingers, but you didn’t move. You hadn’t moved since they sat you down there.

Shouta stared at you through the darkened glass with Nezu standing next to him on a chair. They had brought you to the police station, and Tsukauchi was standing close to the door. Even through the recorder, you didn’t make any sounds. It was like you had turned into a marble statue. Tsukauchi cleared his throat, and Nezu turned his small eyes towards him. Shouta continued staring at you, waiting for you to show a sign that you were alive.

“So, what are you two planning on doing?” Nezu hummed and glanced at his employee. “I’m not quite sure. May we have a moment, please?” The police officers reluctantly left the room and Nezu returned his eyes to you. “What are you thinking, Aizawa?”

“That girl was fighting the Akuma, and winning. No one else did, but I saw the entire thing,” Shouta shifted. “She’s obviously one of them, but what are they doing out here without their coats? They never take them off when they’re outdoors.”

“You are right. But, the answer is simple.” Nezu clasped his hands behind his back. “I believe she’s running from them.” Shouta glanced at him, one eyebrow raised. “She’s been taught how to fight with her kind of Innocence, and it’s clear from the way you described her fighting style that she’s been fighting that way for years. So she’s already been to the Order. Yet she came here without a coat nor backup, which only Generals were allowed to do before the Noahs started hunting them down.” Nezu met his eyes. “That girl is running from the Order. And yet she’s helping others in plain sight while trying to stay hidden from their spies.” Shouta turned back to you. 

You still hadn’t moved.

“What would you say we let her join UA?” He blinked. “Why?”

“She’s strong, and from the sounds of it, she may need further training. Besides, she’s still a teenager. Now that we know she exists, we can’t risk letting her fall into the wrong hands, and she can’t be arrested. She’s here for a reason, and it has something to do with the Akuma, but she can’t run away from the law forever. And she’ll need a better cover than the one she has already.” Shouta groaned and rubbed his face. “So,” He said, voice muffled from behind his hand, “You’re going to give her a spot in the Hero course?”

“Why, of course! That way she can continue hunting, as long as she’s supervised during it.”

Sighing, Shouta headed for the door. “Then let's go talk to her.” Nezu hopped down from his stool and joined him. They passed the officers, who quickly went back into the room, and the two UA teachers entered the interrogation room. You didn’t even shift when the door opened and when they sat down.

Nezu cleared his throat. “Hello there! My name is Nezu, principle of UA High, one of the most prestigious hero schools in Japan. This here is my employee, Aizawa, who is also the one who brought you here. What is your name?” You stayed silent for a few minutes as your hands twitched in your restraints. Nezu hummed softly. “Well, if you need a few minutes, we won’t rush you. Take your time; you can trust us.”

“Can I really?”

Shouta blinked at your soft voice. It cracked with fear as you talked. “How can I be sure you’re not here to harm me?” A few minutes of silence passed before Shouta turned his head slightly, still staring at you. “Cut the recorder.” He really hoped that they listened, and your eyes met his. Your (e/c) eyes flitted across his face, as if looking for a lie, yet you found nothing. Eventually, your posture changed slowly from hunched over and trying to disappear to straight and polite. Your eyes met both his and Nezu’s head on, as if you were ready for anything. 

“Why are you here?” Nezu chuckled. “We should be the ones asking that.”

“I mean, isn’t the police supposed to interrogate criminals, not Pro Heros?”

“The police don’t know anything about the Order,” Shouta calmly stated and your head snapped to his direction. “We couldn’t exactly let them throw you in jail when all you’ll do is break out. And you're not really a criminal. Besides, we have a deal we want to make with you.” You raised an eyebrow. “Really? What is it?”

“You join our Hero course, we provide you shelter with one of our teachers. Of course, you will be allowed to continue to hunt for Akuma, as long as the teacher you live with accompanies you for backup in case civilians are involved,” Nezu replied as he held out his hand, “You will be able to further train your Innocence in the process. All you have to do is enter in an exam with other students. Do we have a deal?”

You stared at his paw, and your gaze slid down to your hands. Your finger started to tap softly on the wood before your eyes met Nezu’s again. You held out your hand and gently grasped his paw, shaking it twice. “We have a deal, as long as I get to choose who I get to live with.”

“Of course. Now, what may we call you?”

“Aleah Walker.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, i know i said next week, but i got impatient. for some reason, i was having so much fun writing all the fight scenes! also, i looked up flower meanings, and daisies represent innocence and purity while daffodils represents rebirth or a new beginning. anyways, i hope you all like the new chapter, and have a an amazing day/night! you're all AWESOME! XP


	3. Chapter 2

You groaned as you flopped on your new bed, your body aching at the sudden softness it was sinking into. You opened one eye and scanned the barely touched room. You had just finished moving in with Aizawa and Present Mic, another teacher at U.A., after a long day of exams. Two sets of future students had to go through exams; most of them went through the Entrance Exam, while a smaller group participated in the Recommended Exam. Both had two parts, a written test and the physical test. You heard through Aizawa and Present Mic’s conversation that the Entrance Examiners had to fight giant robots with points on them. You didn’t know much about it, but if they were anything like Komui’s robots, then you pitied those who took that test.

The test you participated in was actually composed of a race. You didn’t understand how the placing worked, but you most definitely enjoyed yourself. You, to no surprise to yourself, got in first place, only a few minutes before the two in the second and third places barreled through. You clapped politely for them, and for the other participants when they crossed the finish line. 

You smiled at the short memory as your eye landed on your luggage in the corner of the room. It was only a few days since you met Aizawa and Nezu, and Aizawa and his roommate were busy trying to get ready for the exams and set up your room. You appreciated it, but it meant that you were stuck in the hotel whenever they couldn’t take you out furniture shopping. Their couch wasn’t made to be slept on, so you continued to use the money you had left paying for the hotel room and your meals while they set everything up.

“ALEAH! AIZAWA! COME ON! IT’S DINNER TIME!” Present Mic’s voice echoed loudly throughout the house, and you jerked harshly at the sudden sound. You fell off the bed with a loud thump, hitting your forehead on the way down. Groaning at the pain, you pulled yourself off the floor and headed for the bathroom. “I’m coming!” You yelled back at the Pro Hero as you turned on the water to wash your hands. “IT’S GETTING COLD~!” 

“What did I say about using your quirk inside, you idiot?!” You jumped as Aizawa’s voice sounded from down the hallway, and you poked your head out to see him turn the corner with a very annoyed look. Waving, you let him go by first before following.

Present Mic only laughed as you entered the dining room. On the table were three servings of food. You smiled politely, yet was panicking as you stared at the food. _You had no idea how to eat with chopsticks._

You sat down with your two guardians and watched as they ate. You tried mimicking them, yet failed spectacularly several times before you gently placed your chopsticks down with an embarrassed look. You glanced up at the two men watching in-hold up, was that _amusement_ you saw?! You playfully glared at Present Mic, and he quickly tried to wipe away his smile and stop his shaking shoulders.

Aizawa glanced at you. “Need help?”

"Yes please.”

* * *

“Why did I have to get up early?” You mumble to Aizawa as you ate. You shoved the forkful of egg into your mouth as you lazily spun in his chair. The teachers of the school glanced at you every few minutes as you spun around in the stolen chair. You locked gazes with a blond, skeletal man. Pausing in your spinning, you stared at him with a raised eyebrow. You tilted your head to the side and took another bite of your omelette. He quickly glanced away and you resumed your spinning.

“Because I have to leave early, and there is no way you’re going to school alone,” You pouted at him as he returned from the cabinet, “And get out of my chair!”

"Nah, it's comfy." He growled lowly.

"So, who's this girl?" Your eyes traveled to the only female teacher in the room as she picked up some papers. Present Mic sidled up to her and slung an arm over her shoulders. "Yo, Midnight! Rockin' mornin', huh?" Midnight turned to him. "That didn't exactly answer my question."

Your chair continued to spin as the teachers talked. Aizawa grabbed the chair in a second, stopping you from turning more. You shrugged and watched the older people in the room, finishing up your omelette. "She's a first year student with no home, so she's staying at my house until further notice," He responded, and all the teachers turned toward you. You waved in response, closing the Tupperware container that once held your food. Slipping it in your backpack, you turned to your teachers. "Hi!"

You eyed the skeletal man with curiosity. "Ya know, you really look familiar. Have I seen you before?," He flinched and fidgeted nervously, shaking his head. You shrugged, "I'm assuming we are to call you by your Hero names?" You ask, glancing at the rest of the teachers. They nodded slowly. "I'm just gonna say this now, I don't know many Japanese Heros other than All Might and Endeavor, so I'm sorry if I forget your name." You blinked as a thought hit you and you craned your neck so you could gaze at Aizawa. "What's your Hero name, anyways? You never mentioned it in the past few weeks."

"Later," He said and turned away. "If you're done socializing, let's go. Homeroom will start soon." You jumped into action, uttering a small, strangled sound as you slipped off the rolly chair. Slipping your backpack on, you bounced on your toes, waiting for Aizawa to lead the way. You grimaced slightly as you did so; you had gotten used to wearing heels, so any other shoe feels foreign to your feet. You shifted in your school shoes, pausing momentarily in your bouncing.

Aizawa left the room, and you followed with a bounce in your step, glancing back at the skeletal man with a furrowed brow. He met your gaze with a nervous blue one.

Sliding the door shut behind you, you cut off your eye contact.

Following Aizawa to your new classroom, you glanced around the halls. Students with the same uniform you wore now walked past you, speed walking while searching for their own classes. You glanced at your guardian. "Will I be counted late if I arrive with you?"

"No." 

"Yay. So, anything I should be worried about?" Aizawa glanced at you. "What do you mean?"

"Are we doing anything today that would potentially harm the other students if I used my Innocence?" 

"No, nothing you do should harm them today. Why?" You both stopped at a door ten times your size labeled _‘1A’_. Your eyes widened and your mouth fell open. “Woah, that’s huge!” Stepping forward, you eagerly opened the door and stepped through, completely forgetting Aizawa’s question. 

“Get your feet off the desk! You’re disgracing this school!”

“SHUT UP, FOUR EYES!”

You jumped at the shouting the door somehow blocked you from and immediately searched for the problem. Near the far side of the room, two boys were arguing. One stood tall with a frown on his face, gesturing with robotic movements at the feet of the other. The blond had slung them over the wood, which apparently annoyed the uptight boy to no end. You glanced back at Aizawa hesitatingly, but he had disappeared. You glanced around the room, panic rising steadily before spotting a yellow sleeping bag near the door. Black hair slipped through the hole where a face would have been. 

You slowly turned around, calm once again and took in your classmates. ‘Okay, Aizawa isn’t going to help me here. Plan B time!’ Glancing at the far corner, you shuddered as the two boys continued to fight. 'Nope, not there. Somewhere else.' Taking several more steps into the room, your eyes glanced over a white and red head before snapping back onto him. 'Wait, is that-? It is! Ice dude!' Smiling widely in happiness at recognizing someone, you skipped towards him, unaware of a pair of dark eyes watching you.

You plopped down into the seat next to the boy, slinging your backpack around to sit next to your legs as you did so. You met his eyes with a smile and he stared at you with a deadpan expression. "Yo! It's nice to see you again!"

"...Who are you?" You blinked in surprise. Then giggles tumbled out of your lips as realization hit you. "I was first place for the Recommendation Exam?" The boy blinked, and you carefully observed recognition flit around in his eyes. Damn, he had an amazing poker face. "Ah." You held out a hand. "Aleah Walker, at your service! Or is it Walker Aleah? I guess it would be Walker _then_ Aleah here, wouldn't it? Ah well, just call me whatever you want!" You smiled at him and he glanced from your face to your hand then back. "...Todoroki Shoto." You nodded and gently placed your hand in your lap after a few seconds, shrugging a little. 

You heard the door open over the yelling still happening and you shifted, curiosity compelling you to glance. A boy with green hair stood in the doorway with a shocked and slightly scared expression on his face. He stared at the two boys, much like how you had done earlier, before nervously looking around the room for a safe place.

His gaze landed on you, and all fear left his face. You tilted your head as he started muttering. Shrugging, you turned back to Todoroki, missing a blush slowly cover the boys cheeks. Humming and swinging your legs slightly, you smiled at him.“Sooo, why’s your hair like that?” He blinked. “Like what?” You pointed to the point where the two colors met. “Split into two colors. It’s cool looking, don’t get me wrong! It’s just, you know, kinda odd and coincidental that it ended up perfectly symmetrical!”

“Ah.” He turned back to his desk, and you gained a feeling like he didn’t want you there. An awkward silence stretched between you two, and you averted your eyes to your hands. An idea shot across your mind and you perked up, mouth opening as you readied yourself to speak.

“Are you all done yet?” You snapped your mouth shut and swung your legs so you were facing the front of the classroom. Aizawa had escaped his sleeping bag prison, and a girl you could describe as the real life Bubbles had appeared beside the green haired boy. “It took you eight seconds before you all shut up. That’s not going to work. Time is precious; rational students would understand that.” A smile tugged at your lips as he left the class speechless.

You can already tell the year was going to be an interesting one with him around. Aizawa turned to the rest of the class. “Hello, I’m Aizawa Shouta,” He said in a dead, monotone voice, “Your teacher.”

You started snickering softly at the shocked air the other students were giving off as Aizawa reached into his bag. He pulled out blue and white gym clothes with stripes of thin red, sighing. “Alright, let's get to it. Put these on and head outside.” Jumping up, you quickly passed Aizawa and headed to the girl’s locker room with the other girls a few paces behind you.

Changing quickly, you ran outside with a happy little smile on your face. Once you reached the sandy field where Aizawa stood on, you cartwheeled into several flips before stopping a few meters away from him. “Woo, that was fun! I missed doing that.” You turned to him. “So, what ARE we doing here? Don’t we have this thing we need to get to?”

“Quirk assessment test. And we can skip that, Present Mic will just tell you later.” You froze in your spot, cold dread weighing down your stomach quickly. “I’m sorry, what?!” Aizawa glanced at you. “Something the matter?”

“Yes, something is very much the matter! What if I do something and it goes out of control!” You ran your hands through your hair. “What if-”

“Stop.” He laid a hand on your shoulder, halting your steadily rising panic and words. “That’s not going to happen. You have more control than you think, and you need to realise that.” He bent down to your level, staring straight at your eyes. His mouth and nose disappeared in his scarf. “Stop worrying about whatever order your superiors in the Order gave you. You’re not there anymore, _so snap out of it_.”

Your wide eyes blinked after a staring at him for a long moment, and you quickly averted your eyes. Stepping back, you wrapped your arms around your body.

- _Your (e/c) eyes stared back at the man in front of you in fear. You sobbed as the Dark Boots kept you from crawling back away from him. They were so.._ **_heavy_ ** _. ’Can’t move. Please, someone-’_

_“Do you understand, little girl?” You flinched at his voice, wishing you could just disappear from his sights forever. “You now know the rules, don’t you?” You nodded as fast as you could. “Repeat them. Now.”_

_“N-Number one; never u-under ANY circums-s-stance are E-Ex-Exorcists to harm a human with Innocence. I-If they do, th-they will be pub-public-publicly executed.”-_

You looked up at Aizawa with tears in your eyes. “Okay,” You whispered and turned around, walking a few meters away from him before sitting down. Wiping your eyes free from the tears, you started working on tying your hair up. It was hard, since you didn’t have another set of hands to help or a mirror, but you managed to put your hair up into pigtails. The hair at your scalp was braided to add style to it, and some of those braids extended to the ends of your hair. At this point, some of the other students had made it to the field, including a small boy with purple balls on his head. He stared at you creepily as he took in your bare legs. You added the final touch to your hair before standing up and stretching, keeping the boy in your line of sight at all times. As you stretched, you studied your classmates.

Most looked like people before quirks, but some had extra limbs. One boy had a tail behind him, and another had several tentacle-like limbs attached to his arm. And all of them had pants instead of shorts. You slid your legs into a split, your limbs stretching out on either side of you and you leaned your upper body forward. You rested your weight on your forearms and glanced around.

Spotting Todoroki, you nodded at him with a smile on your face and he nodded back at you.

“Oh, wow, you’re really flexible!” You jumped and turned your head to see an invisible girl standing a foot away from your left leg. She watched you shift into a left split and clapped softly, unintentionally calling the other girls towards you two. You sighed in relief as you disappeared from the drooling midget’s sight. “Ah, thank you!”

“Oh, that’s so cool!” The bubbly girl from earlier exclaimed with an awed look on her face, “Can you teach me how to do that?” You blinked. “Sure, but it might take you a while to be able to do it. You have to stretch your muscles repeatedly for a long time before performing a split correctly.”

The girls surrounding you gasped as you slid up without the use of your arms, and you dusted your legs and arms off. “Hi, I’m Aleah Walker! Call me whatever you like!” You smiled at them, and they quickly introduced themselves to you, though a bit confused by the order you said your name to them in. Your eyes strayed and you noticed that the final student, the green haired kid from earlier, had arrived. Smiling, you turned to Aizawa. 

“Finally, you’re all here,” He said, and all chatter stopped, “Today, you all will be undergoing a quirk assessment test.” 

‘Huh, is that all he’s saying?’

“WHAT?! A QUIRK ASSESSMENT TEST?!” You flinched as nearly all the students in the class yelled. “But,” Uraraka stepped forward, “Orientation; we’re gonna miss it!”

“If you really want to make it to the big leagues, you can’t waste time on pointless ceremonies.” The class gasped, and you moved to stand by the brown haired girl. Beside her stood the green haired boy. “Here at UA, we’re not tethered to traditions,” He turned his head to look at the class, “That means I get to run my class however I see fit. You’ve been taking standardized tests most of your lives, but you never got to use your quirks in physical exams before.” At this, he held up a phone. “The country is still trying to pretend that we’re all created equal by not letting those with the most power excel. It’s not rational. One day, the Ministry of Education will learn.” He turned to the blond, angry boy. “Bakugou, you managed to get the most points on the Entrance Exam,” You tilted your head and mumbled, “So that’s why he’s here.” 

“What was your farthest distance throw in softball when you were in Junior High?”

“Sixty-seven meters, I think.” You blinked in surprise. “Oh wow, that’s kinda impressive.”

“Right. Try doing it with your quirk.” At this, he handed Bakugou a ball and had him stand inside the giant, painted white circle on the ground. “If anything goes, just stay in the circle. Go on, you’re wasting our time.” Bakugou stretched his arm across his chest, pushing just above his elbow to stretch it further. “Alright man, you asked for it.” You watched as he prepped and threw the ball, shouting loudly as an explosion propelled the ball farther than sixty-seven meters. “DIE!” 

You whistled and shaded your eyes against the sun, watching the ball land. “It’s the most rational way of figuring out your potential to becoming Pro Heros.”

‘Crap, I wasn’t listening!’ You quickly snapped your head towards Aizawa as he held up the phone. On the screen was the number 705.2. You whistled again, this time longer than the last one. “Well, holy shit,” You muttered in English, “I’ll be a monkey’s uncle..”

“Woah, seven hundred and five meters?” Another blond in the crowd exclaimed, “Are you kidding me?!” Mina jumped and clapped her hands together. “I wanna go, that looks like fun!” You sent her a look as another one of your classmates joined in. Everyone looked as excited as dogs are when their owners come home. You did not like where this was going.

“So this looks like fun, huh?” At that, you cursed colorfully in your mind. “You have three years to become a Hero. Do you think it’s all gonna be games and playtime?” Aizawa smirked as his eyes narrowed. “Idiots. Today you will compete in eight physical tests to gauge your potential. Whoever comes in last has none, and will be expelled immediately.”

“HUH?!”

“Like I said, I get to decide how this class runs.” He brought his right hand up and removed the hair covering his face. His face morphed into something that even you shivered at. “Understand? If that’s a problem, you can head home right now.” 

‘Not cool, sir. Not cool,’ A slight scowl crossed your face as you thought about your Innocence. Whatever he had planned for you, you bet most of the tests would be something you can’t use your Innocence on, effectively putting you in or near last place.

Uraraka stepped forward again with a worried expression on her face. You could tell she couldn’t tell if he was bluffing or not, but honestly, neither could you. “You can’t send one of us home! I mean, we just got here! Even if it wasn’t the first day, that isn’t fair!” You winced. ‘Oh, wrong thing to say, Bubbles.’ Aizawa raised an eyebrow at her. “Oh and you think natural disasters are? Or power hungry villains, hmm?” You could hear the class shift and mutter in confusion. “Or catastrophic accidents that wipe out whole cities? No, the world is full of unfairness. It’s a Hero’s job to try and combat that unfairness. If you want to be a Pro, you’re going to have to push yourself to the brink. For the next three years, UA will throw one terrible hardship after another at you, so go beyond; Plus Ultra style.” Aizawa crooked a finger at the class with the same smirk as earlier still painted on his face.

“Show me it’s no mistake that you’re here.”

You felt the determination in all your classmates rising at those words, and you closed your eyes. 

- _"Show me that it was no mistake of the Dark Boots to have chosen you!”-_

You smirked and opened your (e/c) eyes, feeling your blood course through your veins with little shocks at the rising excitement and determination, waking up your body from a long rest. ‘Well, alright Master-’

“Now then, we’re just wasting time by talking-” He locked gazes with you, and you could see a spark in his eyes.

_“Let the games begin.”_

_‘Let’s do this, Dark Boots.’_

“Now come on, the first test you’ll do is a 50 meter dash. You’ll go in pairs until we get to three; those three will go together. Use your quirk to get to the finish line faster, and remember,” He glanced back at you, “Don’t hold back.” You felt your red anklets move, clicking together as they spun around your ankles, ready to activate. “First up, Iida Tenya and Tsuyu Asui.” The two walked up to the track part of the field and crouched, ready to run. Your eyes widened as you noticed the engines sticking out of Iida’s calves. ‘Huh, now that’s something you don’t see everyday.’

The robot already stationed there counted them off, and with a fake gunshot signalling them, Iida shot off like a rocket to the end of the track while Tsuyu hopped as fast as she could. “9.04 seconds!” It announced and you watched as Aizawa entered the time in. “Well, he’s definitely in his element, but speed won’t help him in every test.” Tsuyu crossed the finish line, and he entered her time in as well. “Uraraka Ochako, Ojiro Mashirao!” They replaced Iida and Tsuyu, and they started when the fake gunshot went off. “5.49 seconds! 7.15 seconds!” You smiled as Uraraka put her fingers together, stopping her quirk’s affect. “Not bad, Bubbles,” You mumbled to yourself. The green haired boy next to you glanced at you in confusion, yet you ignored it. 

“Ashido Mina, Aoyama Yuga!”

The boy winked at you as he walked past, and you could have sworn a sparkle appeared where his eye once was. “Nice attempts, *mon ami,” He said as he turned the opposite way from the finish line and the belt where his belly button was located started shining, “But you’re just not showing enough *panache!” With the gunshot, he jumped and a laser shot out of the belt. He got ahead of Mina, but he fell down in the middle and she outran him. He passed the finish line a few seconds after her. “5.51 seconds!”

“Bakugou Katsuki, Midoriya Izuku!” The boy next to you jerked, and he along with Bakugou got into position. At the gunshot, Bakugou swung his hands out behind him and explosions rocketed him to the finish line. “4.13 seconds!” Curiously, Midoriya didn’t use his quirk... He crossed it, and the machine yelped out his time, “7.02 seconds!” He panted at the end of the track, and you stared worriedly at him. He came back to your side with an intense expression, as if he was thinking hard on something. You offered him a smile, and the one he shot back at you was more along the lines of a grimace. You patted his shoulder in an effort to calm him. ‘Wonder what’s got him so worked up. Must be his quirk.'

“You good?” You asked him quietly as you both watched the other pairs go. “Y-Yeah.”

“You don’t look like it..”

“Mineta Minoru, Walker Aleah!” You flinched, not quite expecting your name to be called that early on, but started heading towards the track. You waved slightly at Midoriya, and he returned it. The midget followed you to it, and you mentally shuddered as you bent down to grab your shoe. Sure enough, he looked at your rear. ‘Should I? I shouldn’t, but then again…’

You slipped off both your shoes and placed them next to you; catching Aizawa’s gaze, you sent him a worried look. He nodded at you, small and unseen if you hadn’t been looking for it. You inhaled deeply and exhaled. ‘Innocence,’ The anklets spun around your ankles more, causing your classmates to gasp slightly at it, ‘Activate.’ The red anklets smoothly shifted into your heeled boots, the crystallized blood reflecting off the sun. “Oh wow!” Someone said behind you as you crouched. You imagined the butterfly wings at your heels bursting through the blood, waiting to start. Backing your upper body into your lower part caused your feet to dig into the ground below you, and cracks started to form as the robot counted you off. The Dark Boots glowed dully with green electricity sparking off from it. The temperature where the wings were rose as they fluttered.

The gunshot echoed in the air, closely followed by a much louder sound.

You shot off with a loud boom, causing two large holes in the ground you were once at and dirt to fly into Mineta’s face from the force of the wind. You passed the finish line and skidded to a halt, stopping a few meters away from it. Your feet had dug into the ground while you stopped yourself, and you pulled them out as the robot called your time. “.5 seconds!”

The rest of the class went wild, and yells and whistles were directed your way. You gently jumped off towards your shoes, and the natural flotation your Innocence gave you made you look like you were walking on the moon. You landed halfway down the track and jumped again, landing next to your shoes. Bending down, you grabbed your shoes and deactivated your Innocence, slipping the white shoes on over your feet. You glanced up at Aizawa, and he nodded at you.

Smiling softly, you turned back to meet the shocked, excited and awed looks your classmates were giving you. “Holy shit, Walker!” A redhead shouted. “That was epic!”

“Congratulations, Aleah!” Hagakure clapped your shoulder, “You got the fastest time! There is NO way anyone is going to be able to beat that!”

You, embarrassed beyond your limit, shifted your bangs to cover more of your face and averted your eyes, not expecting them to react that way. Your anklets shifted and glowed at your shift in emotions and intensity. “Oh wow, they’re glowing again!” Uraraka bent down to look at them closer. “Why do they do that?”

“..They react to my emotions.” You simply say. Mineta crept closer, face still covered in dirt and mouth drooling at your bare legs. “Can I get a look?” You scowled and, as soon as he was in reach, kicked him straight in the cheek. Your anklets shifted drastically during this, and cut his face at certain parts. He fell back about a meter away from you. “Back off, creep, or else it’ll be worse next time, got it?”

"Ouch," Uraraka winced at the boy as Iida scolded you. You glanced at Aizawa out of the corner of your eyes, and smiled as you saw his smirk. You could almost mistake it for a proud one.

"Next test." 

* * *

You sighed harshly as you got back to the ball throwing area. You couldn’t use your Innocence for many of the tests, so you were sure you were near last. Glancing at the one in last place, you patted his back, rubbing small circles on it. Midoriya jumped at the contact and glanced at you, though you missed the blush on his cheeks due to you looking forward. “Hopefully you can use your quirk on this one,” You say, cringing at the ball, “Good luck.”

He blinked as you walked away to the front of the class. “Alright, any volunteers?” Your hand shot out quickly, your face screaming ‘Get on with it’. Aizawa handed you the ball and you readied yourself.

Gathering as much strength as you could you swung your arm and threw the ball. It flew through the air and landed somewhere off in the distance. You glanced at your score. "72.3 meters?" You tilted your head in surprise. "Huh, wasn't expecting that." You shrugged and joined the class, smiling at Midoriya as you linked arms with Uraraka. She didn't seem to mind, and Hagakure even joined in on her other side.

You spaced out as everyone went, only coming back to reality when Uraraka was called. She threw the ball, and you watched the number turn into an infinity sign. Smiling, you whistled at her as she returned to your side, clapping politely. You tuned back in when you spotted Midoriya walk up to the circle. You watched eagerly as he started throwing the ball, and Aizawa quickly activated his own quirk. You narrowed your eyes at him as he started scolding Midoriya. 

"Wonder what he's saying.." Uraraka watched in worry as Aizawa unleashed his hold on Midoriya's quirk. "You can't hear them?" You ask, and she shook her head. You glanced at Aizawa as he let Midoriya throw another. 'Why is he giving him another throw when Midoriya is just going home at the end? That makes no sense..' 

Midoriya stared at the ball in his hand with a determined expression before prepping to throw yet again. This time, however, the ball rocketed towards the end of the field, going over the treetops. Your eyes widened and you smiled manically as you glanced back at Midoriya, whooping out laughs.

His green eyes were staring straight at Aizawa’s with tears in them. Your eyes traveled to his hands, where one was clenched around his wrist. The other was in a fist, and one of his fingers was bruised badly. You could see it was broken. You looked back at Midoriya’s face, and even though he was in pain, you could see the fire of determination and pride in his forest eyes. An explosion caught you off guard, rocking your body harshly, and your Innocence activated automatically in a response to Bakugou’s explosions.

He rocketed towards Midoriya, screaming loudly in rage, “ HEY! DEKU, YOU BASTARD! TELL ME HOW YOU DID THAT OR YOU'RE DEAD!” You ran. One step, then another, and you jumped, flipping over Bakugou and landing in between him and his target. Your Innocence flashed as you moved to block Bakugou’s punch with your right leg. His fist landed on your shin, and he flinched as it collided harshly with an immovable object. Your eyes bore into his red ones as a gray scarf wrapped around his body and he was flung backwards, away from you two.

You lowered your leg as Bakugou struggled against the scarf. "What-what the hell-?! Why is your damn scarf so strong?!" 

"Because it's a capture weapon made out of carbon fiber and a special alliod," Aizawa glared at Bakugou, "Stand down. It'd be wise to not make me use my quirk too much; it gives me serious dry eye." You snorted at that. He released the blond and deactivated his quirk. "You're wasting my time now. Whoever's next can step up." He turned away and you turned your attention to Bakugou. He stared you down, waiting for you to move.

"Go on now," You say to him. His eyes narrowed at you and you smiled innocently at him. The _Dark Boots_ flashed in a warning as you shifted. "Well? You gonna leave?" After a moment, he reluctantly turned back and walked away. You deactivated your Innocence and turned to Midoriya. "You good?"

"Y-Yeah. Thank you."

"No problemo!" You smiled at him and skipped away, yet again missing the blush engulfing his face.

"Come on people, let's get going," Aizawa called to the rest of the class, and you eagerly skipped to his side. "What are we doing next?"

"You'll see."

* * *

"How are you so flexible?!" Uraraka exclaimed as she observed you stretch farther than everyone in the class. "I'm a dancer, dancers are a lot more flexible than most people," You say as you stretched deeper, then released your body from the pose. You stood up and grinned at her. "Your turn!" She groaned on the way down. 

Giggling, you helped her into the position and recorded her measures. Glancing every now and then at Midoriya. His finger was still broken, and you winced at it. “Aleah? What’s wrong?” You snapped your eyes back to Uraraka, not realizing you made a frown at Midoriya finger. “Ah, nothing! Why do you ask?”

“You’re frowning at Deku again.” You blinked and stood up. “I am?” Uraraka stood up with you and nodded. “Yeah, you are. Are you okay?” You sighed and glanced at him. He still looked like he was in pain. “I guess I’m worried about him; he broke his finger and yet here he is pushing through the pain so he could keep a spot in the class. I know how bad a broken bone hurts, and he doesn’t look like one who’s used to pain. And it doesn’t seem like he has a good grip on his quirk yet, either,” You turned your eyes back onto your friend. She, too, was frowning at this point, “I mean, his finger broke just by throwing a ball. I’m betting he’s a late bloomer and that’s why his quirk damages him so much just by doing a simple thing with it, but I just wish he could go to the nurse soon.” 

Uraraka glanced at you. “Do you think there’s a way we can help him?” You shook your head. “Not at this point. Well, not if we don’t want Aizawa glaring at us.” You sighed and turned back to Midoriya. He was now reporting his score along with his partner. “Come on, we better hurry up. Aizawa might get mad at us if we waste anymore time.”

* * *

“Here are your scores.” 

You craned your neck around to see the scoreboard, but literally everyone was taller than you. You sighed harshly and jumped, grabbing onto Momo’s shoulders to help you. You felt her jerk in surprise, yet she stayed still otherwise.

Eyes travelling down for your name, your grimace twisted deeper as you went down. You breathed out a sigh of relief as you spotted it, but you also winced and turned to Midoriya. Your name was right above his, and he was in last place. 

You jumped off of Momo’s back and moved to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. His teary, wide eyes slowly met yours and you slid your hand to his other shoulder, giving him a side hug. 

“By the way,” Aizawa called, eyeing you two, “I lied about the person in last place.” You blinked in shock, consoling smile frozen on your face. The class erupted into yells and Midoriya blinked in shock, tears falling as his lips crept into a hopeful smile. _You really should have seen this coming._

You snapped your head to Aizawa with a glare. “Not cool!” You yelled in English and his lips twisted into a smirk. “Not cool, sir! How dare you make this cinnamon bun cry, asshole?” You crossed your arms with a playful scowl on your face. Your classmates jumped as you continued to yell in English at the teacher. Your curses dissolved into giggles and you slung your arm across Midoriya’s shoulders in happiness, anklets shifting crazily.

“Yes! We get to share a class together!” You fist-bumped the air as Aizawa sent you all away to change. Midoriya blushed as you expressed your happiness. “Ohh, maybe we could get back at him for messing with our heads like that!” You say as you snap your fingers, right arm still hugging the green haired boy next to you. The redhead from earlier laughed at you. “How? He’ll probably see it coming a mile away!” You giggled as you separated yourself from the teen next to you. “Oh, you poor, little child,” You say with a grin and pat his shoulder, “Don’t you know that’s what makes it fun?” You skipped off, leaving behind several confused and amused classmates.

Iida yelled at you as you passed him. “Walker, don’t! It’s against the rules to prank people, especially the teachers!” He swung his arms robotically around him. “Please honor the rules and your health, Walker!” You laughed and and started running, jumping into a series of flips and cartwheels. You heard whistles from some of the other students as you landed.

Grinning, you bowed with an imaginative hat in your hand. You stood up and plopped it onto your head, giggling. 

“See you guys later!” You say, waving, and ran off. You reached the locker room and quickly changed. 

You checked the time and headed to the teacher lounge, smiling broadly as you entered the room. All the teachers were in there once again with Aizawa in his sleeping bag. “Present Mic!” You screeched and tackled him, completely missing the groan of annoyance coming from Aizawa at having two loud people near him.

“Aizawa was being a total dickhead,” You say as you hung from Present Mic’s body. He laughed loudly at that and pried you off. “Isn’t he always?” You heard a quiet protest from the yellow prison on the floor as you pouted. “Well, he was being even more of one today. Do you have any idea what he did? He tricked us into thinking he was going to expel one of us if we came in last in these physical tests!” You swung your legs from your position, hanging from your armpits and supported by Present Mic’s hands.

“That sounds like him,” Midnight calmly stated, watching you with amusement. You let out a giggle before wiggling to be let down. Present Mic let you down and you instantly crouched next to Aizawa. “So, what else are we doing today?” He groaned and rolled over, hiding his face from you. “You do realize I could just, you know, annoy you until I get my answer?”

“You do realize I could make your life a living hell if you do?”

“Been there, done that!” You say with a small wave and laugh. “Boring!”

He groaned loudly. "Go back to the classroom. The next class is going to start." You pouted. "Ugh, fine. See ya after school!"

* * *

You spun around in Aizawa's chair, waiting for him to appear. The sun was setting, and all the students had left the building. You saw Uraraka leave with Iida and Midoriya earlier from the window, and you had smiled at the sight. Now, you were bored and lonely. Aizawa was nowhere in sight, and the teachers were gone. You were pretty sure that they were in a meeting, so you hanged out in the lounge, waiting for either one of your guardians to appear.

Your cell buzzed, and you pulled it out with a bored expression.

_"Hey, Aleah! It's me, Uraraka! I'm making a group chat with the rest of the class, and congratulations! You're the first on here! Text us when you can!"_

You blinked. "Now when did she..?" You mutter in English, completely baffled at the thought of the bubbly girl whisking your phone from right under your nose. Finally, you smirked. " _Sneaky_ little girl!"

You typed out a reply and sent it, turning it off when you were done and slumping back into your chair. You hummed and closed your eyes, continuing your spinning once again. 

A force stopped it suddenly.

"Oi, get up."

Your eyes flew open and you grinned at Aizawa. "Took ya long enough, sir. Meeting held you up?"

He turned away and pointed at your backpack. "Get your things and let's go." You slid off the chair and grabbed the backpack, slipping it on as you pushed the chair back into its spot.

Following Aizawa, you hummed. "Will I have to follow you around every day when we leave the house?"

"Yes."

"Ah, okay. I think I made some friends today." He glanced back at you as you put a finger to your lips. "Uraraka somehow stole my phone number, and she along with all of the girls pretty much kidnapped me for several minutes during the tests today. So, I think we're friends."

"Did you have friends back in the Order?"

- _"Yo, shrimp! Whatcha doin'?"-_

- _"Ah, Aleah, there you are! Can you help me with these trays? The Science Division had another all-nighter last night, and I'm the only one with enough free time to get coffee!"_ -

- _"Get the fuck off me, shrimp.-_

- _"SHRIMP! PLAY SOME FOOTBALL WITH ME! CHARITY BELL AND I ARE BORED! AND I BET DARK BOOTS WOULD LIKE THE PRACTICE, AS WELL!"_ -

- _”Y-You’re a f-friend, Miss Aleah; I don’t want to see you hurt. If I c-can keep Time Record acti-activated, then the boat’ll be sa-afe, and everyone can see the light of day again!”-_

- _”I’ll hold off these brats! Continue on! I’ll be fine! I still have a couple canteens of Akuma blood left, and Kanda is coming! Don’t worry, and get out of here!”_

- _"_ ** _Welcome home, Aleah!_** _"_ -

You smiled sadly. "Yeah, I did." You looked up at him, and your smile changed. "Though we prefer the term family."

_"Sneaky sneaky, Bubbles! How the hell did ya managed to do this? Gotta say, I'm impressed."_

_"Awe, thank you! I've been practicing for a while now, but I don't think I can pick something off of a person unless they're sleeping just yet. Hey, I got Deku's and Iida's numbers! Wanna add them into the chat? I don't have everyone’s numbers yet, so they won't be appearing until next time we see each other. See you tomorrow!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Mon ami- my friend
> 
> *unfortunately, i could not understand what Aoyama is saying, so the closest word i found was Panache- flamboyant confidence of style or manner. 
> 
> that's all for this time around! she finally gets to meet the class! yay! also, that was Aizawa watching her when she was skipping towards Todoroki, in case people didn't know. oh, and the nickname 'Shrimp' is one that comes from a character named Kanda in D.Gray Man. most of her friends call her that, because she is the youngest and smallest in their group. i hope you all liked this chapter, and have a wonderful day/night! you're all AWESOME! XP


	4. Chapter 3

Sunlight streamed through the window, hitting shelves full to the brim with action figures and plushies with the occasional knickknacks of All Might. The walls were covered in posters of the Pro Hero, and their smiling faces peered down at a bed.  The sunlight reached a freckled face hidden in the sheets, and it slowly moved to hide from the light.

_ Beep, beep, beep, bee- _

A hand poked out of the covers and it turned the alarm off. With a groan, forest green eyes slowly opened and a boy sat up, stretching before checking the time.

Izuku jolted before jumping out of bed, face full of excitement as he rushed to get ready. Leaving his room, he thundered towards the dining room, leaving behind a trail of happiness in his wake.

“Morning, mom!” He said and slid into his chair, bouncing slightly. Inko smiled warmly at him, already laying out breakfast on the table. “Good morning, Izuku! How did you sleep?”

“Great!” The green haired boy scarfed down his food, trying to get ready early. The T.V. was softly playing in the background, and both he and Inko listened to it with one ear while conversing between bites.

Izuku froze as his mother blinked in shock, and they both turned to the T.V. in growing horror.

_ “-Police reports say that a train station was attacked late last night by the same beings from the airport a few months ago. Unfortunately, all who entered around the time that police are saying the attack started at had perished, turning into dust and leaving their clothes behind. They are also linking this massacre to cases exactly the same within thirty-five years. Tapes have been confiscated as evidence, and even though most of it is corroded by some type of substance, police are disclosing the information they could gather. Before we show this recording, police urges parents with young children and those with a weak stomach or mental disorders to stop watching. Let’s take a look, now.” _

Izuku and Inko migrated to the living room just in time for the video tape to start. Izuku covered his mouth.

The area in the train station that the camera was pointing at was calm, too calm. People were leaving trains, sitting down on benches to wait, and he could barely see a couple kids goofing off with something in the corner. Suddenly, a man in the center of the room stopped, and his skin ripped apart. He transformed into a giant beast with cannons sticking out of its back, and the screen glitched out before coming back into focus. The monster was shooting people left and right, and those that got shot quickly turned to dust, leaving their clothes behind. Those who didn’t were quickly caught by it, and it ripped their bodies apart with its claws and teeth.   


Izuku quickly looked away before he reached his limit. He really did not want to throw up on his mother’s carpet. Tears fell from his eyes as he continued to listen to the broadcast.

_ “That-that was…” _

_ “Oh my god, I was not expecting that. _

_ “What even was that..?” _

_ “...” _

_ “...” _

_ “Everyone, Pro Heros and police urges you to be safe while traveling outside your home. Try to stay in a group at all costs until these monsters are finally hunted down and taken care of. Even though there is someone out there able to fight these beings off, do not think that you are automatically safe. Government officials say that not even Pro Heros can get rid of them completely, and whoever stopped the attack at the airport a few months ago will not be able to be everywhere at once. Even though they can fight the monsters, try to make their job easier by following the orders given to us by police. That is all we have right now, so everyone, have a wonderful day and be safe.” _

* * *

Izuku sighed as he entered the classroom. Looking around, he spotted Uraraka and Iida, as well as Kaachan and a few of his classmates who he didn’t know by name. His eyes glanced to the back of the room, and there you were, sitting next to the boy with two hair colors with a smile on your face. Though, he noticed it was a very strained smile, and your eyes were puffy and red, as if you were crying. It seemed as if the boy next to you was the only one besides him that noticed. His heart clenched at the sight.

“Hey, Deku!” Uraraka called and waved him over, catching both his and yours. He flinched as he met her gaze, and he quickly walked over to her with a blush on his face. “H-Hey!”

“Hello, Midoriya!” Iida nodded at him and Izuku returned it with a shaky smile. “Good morning, you two!”   
  
“Hey, Midoriya!” He turned his head and caught sight of the invisible girl sitting in front of Kaachan. “Did you see the news today?” He cringed. “I’m guessing by that reaction, you did...Horrifying, huh?” She shuddered, and Izuku could feel the air around him grow colder. He glanced around, and nearly everyone had sorrowful expressions splayed across their faces.

“What were those things, anyways?” Uraraka asked with a tint of fear coloring her voice. Izuku shook his head, unable to answer the question that everyone was thinking of. He glanced at you and he blinked.

Your head was down and your fists were clenched tight, as if you were trying to hold something in. “Hey, Deku?” His eyes went back to Uraraka. “You good?” She whispered to him, and he sent her a shaky nod. His eyes traveled to Kaachan, and he shuddered as he glanced at the clock. He knew Aizawa was somewhere in the room, waiting for the bell to ring and mark people tardy or absent, and he really didn’t want to find out what kind of teacher he was when it came to punctuality.

Sighing, he carefully made his way to his desk as the morbid conversation continued in the background. He silently slid into his seat, hoping that Kaachan wouldn’t notice him. “I wonder if all those monsters look alike,” Kirishima said as he leaned against his desk, gaze towards the ceiling. “Maybe. If that was the case then we would have a better chance at avoiding them,” Iida replied, "But, for some reason I don't think that is the case."

"That's not good." A girl with ear jacks dangling from her ears replied, sitting down in her chair as she slipped her bag off. A chair scraped across the floor, and Izuku jumped and glanced back at you. You had stood up with a smile on your face and clapped your hands together, gathering everyone's attention.

"So! Who's ready for our first day of actual class! Maybe this time Aizawa won't be a dickhead and trick us again!" You said with a small laugh. Iida nodded with a serious expression. "Yes, that was rather low of him to lie to us yesterday. Hopefully that won't become a trend. And do not insult the teacher!"

"But he is one!" You laughed as the other students filed in and everyone took their seats. Aizawa entered the room with his sleeping bag under his arm a few minutes later. The bell rang just as he closed the door. Izuku sat up straight, excitement making him twitch slightly.

'First class of the day has started!'

* * *

'It's finally time!' Izuku smiled as he sat back in his seat after lunch. 'Hero basic training!'

"I AM-" The door snapped open, causing several students to jump, "HERE!" All Might stepped through the door with his signature smile stretched wider than normal and dressed in his old costume. "COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A HERO!" Izuku heard a snort come from the back of the class, and he glanced back to see you giggling into your hands.

Most of the students gasped at the sight of the Pro Hero. "Oh man!" Another blond exclaimed in excitement, "I can't believe it's actually All Might!"

"So he is a teacher! This year's going to be totally awesome!"

"Welcome to the most important class at U.A. High!" All Might yelled, and Izuku could feel his already high excitement climb higher than before. "Think of it as Hero-ing 101! Here, you will learn the basics of being a Pro, and what it means to fight in the name of good!"

"Yay," You said softly with a grin, chin in your hand. Izuku covered his mouth as All Might continued. "Now let's get to it! Today's lesson will pull no punches!"

"Fight training!" He could see Kaachan's manic smile even from directly behind him.

"Real combat?"

"One of the keys to being a Hero is looking good!" At this, he pointed towards the wall, and sections of it came out with robotic sounds. Numbers were painted at the top, and they rolled out one at a time. "These were designed for you based on your port registration boards and the requests you sent in before school started. Get yourself suited up and meet me at Training Ground Beta!"

"YES SIR!"

* * *

Izuku picked up his costume and glanced over it with a warm smile. Quickly changing, he ran out the door and to the training area.

- _ "Izuku." He turned at the sound of his name and he quickly spotted Inko with a box in her hands. She had a smile on her face, and she held the box out to him. "I saw your drawings of your costume, and I know it might not be as good as what the school can provide, but I made it for you!" _

_ His eyes widened in surprise and he quickly took the box. Opening it up, Izuku smiled at the green suit as he took it out. He looked up at his mother and enveloped her in a tight hug. _

_ "Thanks Mom!" He said as tears slipped from his eyes. _ -

He reached the sandy area and slowed to a stop, smiling brightly. 'It's a gift from my mom, so of course I'm going to wear it! It's not state of the art or flashy, but it means something to me.' You glanced over at him, and his body locked up as you smiled. Skipping over to him, you slung an arm around his shoulders and hugged him. He blushed heavily as he realized what your costume looked like.  You were in a tight, dark red leotard with a silver turtleneck collar. On your forearms were metal fingerless gloves, giving your knuckles an extra kick. Your bare legs were covered by fishnet stockings, which also covered your upper arms, and your feet had red heels protecting them. Your hair was up in the same hairstyle from yesterday.

"Hey, Strawberry!" You said with a large smile, unintentionally calling Uraraka over. 

"St-Strawberry?!"

“Hey, Deku! Your costume is super cool!" The brown haired girl said as she took off her face guard. His eyes glanced over her costume as well, mentally panicking as she came closer.

She was in a mostly black, tight bodysuit with pink weights on her arms and legs. There were several parts of her costume that were pink, and you immediately detached yourself from him and latched onto Uraraka. "My Lord, both of you are so cute in your costumes!" 

"Um, why am I 'Strawberry'?" Izuku asked nervously. "You look like one when you blush." His blush deepened, prompting Uraraka to take a closer look. “Huh, I don’t see it. Why do you think he looks like one?”

“When he has nothing over his head and he blushes, he looks just like a strawberry!” You smiled brightly at him. “I honestly think it’s adorable, but if you want me to stop calling you that, I will. Just say the word and I’ll never utter it again, okay?” He blinked, blush dying down a little. “A-Ah, no, it’s okay! You can call me that if you want!” You nodded and skipped away, calling over your shoulder, “Also, I really like your suit, Midoriya! It’s really cool!”

He stared after you before slowly dropping his head into his hands, blush tinting his ears a deep red. Uraraka hummed. “Something the matter, Deku?” Izuku shook his head, lifting it up to meet her eyes with a smile. “Nothing’s wrong!”

The sound of someone clearing their throat caught their attention, and they turned to the front to see All Might lowering his fist from his mouth. “Now that you’re ready, it’s time for combat training!” Someone in a costume that looked like a cross between an automobile and a knight raised their hand, “Sir,” Iida’s voice came from under it, slightly muffled.  ‘Oh, so that’s Iida under there! He looks so cool!’ 

“This is the fake city from our entrance exam. Does that mean we’ll be conducting urban battles again?”

“Not quite,” He held up two fingers, “I’m moving you two steps ahead! Most of the villain fights you see on the news take place outside, however, statistically speaking running into the most dastardly villains take place indoors. Think about it; backroom deals, home invasions, secret underground lairs. Truly intelligent criminals stay hidden in the shadows. For this training exercise, you’ll be split into two teams of good guys and bad guys and fight two on two indoor battles!” 

A girl on his right spoke up, her nasally voice startling him. “Isn’t this a little advanced?” She said as she tilted her head. “The best training is what you get on the battlefield! But remember, you can’t just punch a robot this time! You’re dealing with actual people now.”

“Sir, will you be deciding who wins?” Another girl piped up, her voice serious. “How much can we hurt the other team?” He winced slightly at that one; of course Kaachan would ask that question. Uraraka tugged nervously at her fingers, “Do we need to worry about the losers getting expelled like earlier?”

“Will you be splitting us up based on chance or comparative skills?” Iida asked, hand still raised. 

“Isn’t this cape pretty chic?” Someone cut in, and Izuku stepped away from the boy a little, confused as he showed All Might the purple, shimmering cape. He glanced between all his classmates that spoke up. “I wasn’t finished talking! Listen up!” He said as he opened a tiny paper book. ‘A script?!’

“The situation is this; the villains have hidden a nuclear missile somewhere in their hideout! The heros must try to foil their plans. To do that, the good guys must either catch the evildoers or recover the weapon! Likewise, the bad guys succeed if they protect their payload or capture the heros.”

‘Sounds like a classic action movie set up!’ Izuku thought with a hand on his chin, remembering the old style arcade fighting games he would play with Kaachan. Or, watch him play with his three sidekicks. All Might held up a box with a slit in the top. “Time’s limited, so we choose by drawing lots!” 

“Isn’t there a better way?” Izuku turned to Iida, holding up a finger with a smile. “Think about it; Pros often have to team up with Heros from other agencies on the spot, so maybe that’s the reason we’re seeing it here!” Iida looked away, a hand coming up to his chin, but paused halfway and lowered. “Yes, I see. Life is a random series of events; excuse my rudeness!” He bowed low to the Pro Hero before them. 

“No sweat! Now, since we have an odd number of students, be warned there will be three in a group, and that team will take turns against their foes. Basically, that battle will happen twice! LET’S DRAW!” Everyone quickly gathered around the box and grabbed a slip of paper. Izuku glanced down at his. The letter  _ ‘A’ _ stared back at him in a red coloring. “Deku, what’s your letter?” Uraraka peered at his and smiled. “Looks like we’re on the same team!” Izuku smiled nervously at her before glancing around as everyone else found their teammates. His eyes lingered on you, and you waved at him from your spot next to the only redhead in the class and another boy with weird looking elbows. He flinched in surprise before shyly waving back at you.

“Wow, what are the chances?! We’re a team!” Uraraka smiled happily. ‘Oh my gosh, I have to make a good impression on them!’ He thought, panicking. 

“I declare the first teams to fight will be,” All Might yelled as he dug into the two boxes by his side, one black with white lettering spelling out villains and the other white with the word “Hero” in black, “These guys!” Izuku felt his stomach drop. On one ball was his team’s letter, and the other was Team D. He knew exactly who was on that team…

“Team A will be the Heros, Team D will be the villains! Everybody else can head to the Monitory Room to watch!”

“YES SIR!” Izuku stared at the ground as his classmates passed him. He felt your hand pat his shoulder as you walked past, heels clicking against the cement under you. He slowly glanced at Kaachan, flinching back as he found two red orbs glaring a hole into him. He glanced away with a gasp, hands trembling before he clenched them into fists. Gathering his courage, he turned his head to meet Kaachan’s gaze directly, earning a look that crossed his face before he growled lowly. 

“Bad guys, you can go in and get set up,” All Might said as he led them to the building their fight would take place in, “In five minutes, the good guys will be let loose and the battle will start!”   
  
“Yes sir!” He leaned against the railing with Uraraka as All Might left the scene and Kaachan and Iida entered the building. The Pro Hero whirled around, as if he suddenly remembered something. “Young Iida! Young Bakugou,” They turned to look at him, “The key to being successful in this challenge is to embody villainy. Think from the perspective of the evildoer!” 

“Got it!” Iida replied. “If things go too far, I’ll step in.” 

“Understood!” WIth that, the two entered the building and All Might disappeared. Izuku shivered as Kaachan’s piercing stare left his body. “You think they really expect us to memorize the floor plan? It’s so big!” Uraraka exclaimed as they looked over the paper with said floor plans. “You know, All Might’s just as cool as he is on television! I’m glad he’s not threatening us with a punishment like Mr. Aizawa! We can rela-Ah you’re sweating through your costume!” 

Izuku shakily lowered the paper. “Ah, well, it’s just because we’re up against Kaachan,” He replied with a trembling, weak voice, “Plus, there’s Iida, too. We should be on our guard; who knows what they’ll pull!” 

“Oh, right. Bakugou. He’s the one who’s always making fun of you..” He hummed. “And he’s amazing. He can be a real pain, sure, but his strength, and his confidence, and his ambition; not to mention his quirk, they are all so much greater than mine.” Izuku stood up straight, his rising determination lighting up in his eyes. “But that just means I’ll have to do better!” He said as he moved his mouth guard over his nose. “I refuse to lose today!” 

“So it’s a fated battle between rivals?” Uraraka playfully replied, leaning towards him slightly. “Oh, not that I’m trying to get you wrapped up in my fight or anything!”   
  
“Are you kidding? We’re a team, right? Let’s win this!” She yelled and threw her fist in the air, hugging the floor plans to her stomach. Izuku smiled and nodded a second after. “All right!” All Might’s voice echoed through the speakers, causing the two to adopt serious expressions.  **_“Let’s begin the indoor combat training! Team A and Team D, your time starts now!”_ **

Immediately, Izuku started looking for a way in other than the front door. Uraraka followed him, helping in their quest for an entryway. “Hey,” She whispered, and once she has his attention, she points to an open window. He nodded, and they climbed in with Izuku first. He glanced around as she jumped through the window. “And just like that, we’re in!” She whispered with a determined smile.  “Careful; there are a lot of blind spots.” He said and started walking, trying to be quiet as the brunette caught up. Everytime they came across another hallway or an open door, Izuku would push his back into the wall behind him and carefully look over his shoulder. Each time, the coast was clear, and so they continued on, looking for the staircase to lead them to the next floor.

‘I still have basically no control over  _ One for All _ ; I can’t risk using it. If I did, I’d probably end up killing someone. We’ll just have to win with Uraraka’s  _ Zero Gravity _ and whatever I can do without a quirk. I’ve gotta use my head. I took a lot of notes on indoor battles and fighting in tight spaces. I can do this!’ Izuku blinked as he heard a sound. Gasping, he stopped and tried going into reverse. Kaachan appeared where they were about to turn the corner. His red eyes glared into Izuku’s own green eyes. 

Kaachan twisted his body in midair to get closer to Izuku, and he yelled as he thrust his right arm out, explosions popping from his hand. Izuku dodged quickly and pushed his teammate down with him, not noticing at first that half his mask got burnt from Kaachan’s quirk. He quickly got up and faced the human grenade. “Uraraka, you okay?!”

“I’m fine! Thanks! Ah, Deku-!”

“It’s just my mask!” He replied as he watched Kaachan wave away the smoke with one arm. “What’s the matter, Deku? Afraid to stand up and fight me?” 

“I knew you’d come at me first; I figured you would try to catch me by surprise.” Kaachan growled lowly before a manic grin spread across his face. He took off towards Izuku, left arm ready to explode him. “I won’t hurt you so bad they’ll have to stop the fight! Just CLOSE!” He jumped towards Izuku and thrust it towards the boy, shoving his right shoulder back as if he was prepping to punch him. Just as he threw his right arm towards Izuku, more explosions popping from between his fingers, the green haired boy grabbed it with both hands, hugging it to his body. 

He effectively stopped Kaachan from moving forward, and he heard the other make a sound of shock and confusion. “Wow!” Uraraka exclaimed from behind him. “Look at those moves!” Izuku slid his foot and pivoted, pulling Kaachan off balance and throwing him down on his back, leaving him gasping for air. He panted as the explosive blond tried to catch his breath.

“Kaachan,” The teen before him slowly sat up at the sound of his name, “You always use a big right hook to start a fight. I know, because I’ve watched you for years. I analyzed every amazing Hero, even you. I wanted to learn everything I could about them. It was all in the notebook you burned and threw away.” Izuku stood up, facing his opponent in a battle stance. “You can call me ‘Deku’, but I’m not the same helpless,  _ defensive _ kid anymore! You hear me?! I’ve changed! From now on, ‘Deku’ is the name of a Hero!” 

Kaachan stood up and faced Izuku, crouching in his normal battle stance. With a snarl, he glared at the student in green. “ _ Deku _ , you’re shaking in your boots; you’re so scared,” Explosions emitted from his palms, and Izuku flinched slightly, “But you want to fight me  _ anyway _ . THAT’S WHY I HATE YOU!” A few seconds later, he moved his arm up and pressed something in his ear. “Just shut up and defend the weapon! I’ve got more important things to worry about.” 

Kaachan swung his left arm behind him, and Izuku’s eyes widened. “Uraraka! Go!” She turned and ran, looking behind her, just as explosions rocketed Kaachan towards him. He swung his leg in a strong kick, aiming for Izuku’s face, and he blocked the attack with both arms. 

“Ballsy move! Think you can take me alone?” Izuku quickly tried wrapping the capture tape around the leg he was given, yet it was yanked out of it before he could tighten it. ‘Hero Notebook #10! Page 18! Luckily, I got to see Eraserhead’s moves in action! What’ll Kaachan do now? Knowing him, he’ll be impatient and try another big punch!’ He dodged the punch coming his way, glancing back quickly to see the angered look. ‘I was right!’  Crouching, he panted as he watched for the next move to come. ‘He kicked first this time. He’s switching things up so I can’t predict his moves! Does that mean he’s worried?’ Kaachan swung both his arms behind him once more, palms open, and Izuku quickly booked it. “Get back here, Deku!” He heard and he sped up, turning corner after corner in order to confuse the other teen. ‘I’m not going to be able to fight him close range now. I need some kind of plan!’ 

“DAMMIT! YOU WERE TRICKING ME FOR YEARS BY ACTING WEAK, MAYBE EVEN LAUGHING BEHIND MY BACK, HUH?!” Izuku blinked in shock, almost tripping over himself. “ARGH, SO WHERE’S THAT FLASHY POWER OF YOURS NOW?! LET’S SEE HOW IT COMPARES TO MINE!” The sound of explosions echoed through the hallways. “QUIRK OR NO, YOU’LL NEVER BEAT ME, DEKU!”

- _ ”Whatever, Deku! No matter what power you end up with, you’ll never be able to beat me!” _ -

He quickly slid to a stop and crouched behind a corner, panting heavily as he watched over his shoulder for Kaachan. Rubbing his mouth with the back of his hand, he sighed in relief. ‘Good, he’s completely forgotten about my partner. Just like I thought. If they wanted to send someone to stop us here, it should’ve been Iida. He’s way faster after all! That probably means Kaachan’s gone rogue. The two of them aren’t working together as a team. If we had to take those two on head to head, our chances of winning would be pretty low. They’ve got such strong quirks. 

‘I can’t go after the weapon right now or Kachan will follow me, and if we both tried to take him down we’d probably run out of time. So we stay split up for now; I have to trust Uraraka. She’ll find the weapon and Iida, and then I’ll join her for a two on one fight! That’s how we win! I’ll just have to capture Kaachan down here..on my own. I can do it!’ He thought and and clenched his fist in determination. ‘As long as I don’t get too close to his hands!’

“STOP HIDING!” He glanced back over his shoulder with a small gasp. Kaachan was nowhere in sight. “COME ON AND FACE ME, YOU COWARD!”

‘By the way, I’ve been meaning to tell you, Kaachan,’ Izuku rubbed his nose. ‘I take back everything I said!’

“Um, Deku?” He pressed the earpiece in his ear. “I’m here, how’s it going?”

**_“Iida knows that I’m here, sorry. Aaaaand now he’s monologuing.”_ **

“Where are you?”

**_“Near the middle of the fifth floor!”_ **

He looked up at the ceiling. “Right above me..” He glanced back down in thought. ‘We probably don’t have much time left now. We have to finish this fast or they win!’ Izuku clenched the hand holding the tape into a fist. ‘I won’t give up hope yet! I can capture Kaachan; I won’t lose!’ He stood up just as a sound from behind him caught his attention. With a gasp, he turned around to see Kaachan staring at him. The gauntlets he wore flashed red in-between the green plating, and that immediately put Izuku’s guard up higher than it was before.  _ It was black before. _

Kaachan raised his arm with the calmest expression he could wear. “I’m all loaded up.”

“What does that mean..?”

“Why aren’t you using your fancy quirk? Don’t tell me you’re underestimating me,  _ Deku _ . Get over here and show me what you’re REALLY made of!” Izuku tightened the strip of tape in between his hands with a tug. ‘I have no choice; I have to face him, right now!’

“Kaachan, I’m not scared of you anymore!” Kaachan’s mouth twisted into a snarl before calmly lifting up into a smirk.  _ What is he planning?  _ “Since you’re such a stalker, by now you probably know how my quirk,  _ Explosion _ , works.” Izuku gasped as realization slowly dawned on him. “I secrete nitroglycerin like sweat from my hands and make it blow up. Imagine what I could do if I had a lot of it!” He grabbed the gray spike and with a clink, pulled it back to reveal a pin that you would find on an actual grenade. He aimed it straight at Izuku.  “That’s right, these gauntlets aren’t just for show; they’ve been storing up my sweat inside for one monster blast!” Horror washed over Izuku’s body as what was about to happen dawned on him. Flashes of different scenarios crossed his mind, and the only thing that snapped him out of it was All Might’s voice over the speakers.

**_“Young Bakugou! Don’t do it! You’ll kill him!”_ **

“He’ll be fine as long as he dodges!” Kaachan yelled as he slowly pulled the pin out, and as soon as the small piece of metal was out, a very large, and a  _ very powerful _ explosion rocked towards him like a bullet. It destroyed the hallway walls, and Izuku, with a scream, barely dodged it in time to not get seriously hurt. The building shook immensely from the force of it, and Izuku could suddenly feel a cold draft.

**_“Come in! Come in, Midoriya!”_ ** He panted and groaned from the aches in his body from the blast. He leaned up on his elbows. “Is that..even allowed?” He flinched as Kaachan laughed. “These are awesome! The more nitro-sweat stored in these gauntlets the stronger the explosion is!” His left gauntlet suddenly flashed red, and Izuku stared at him in horror. “Go ahead, use your stupid quirk on me, _ Deku _ . Even if you give me everything you got,” He slid into his fighting stance with a manic grin, “You’ll  _ never _ beat me.”

He glanced down at Izuku. “What’s the matter? You look scared. You dodged the attack so you could still fight, can’t you? Come and get me!” 

‘The gauntlets make it so he can use his powers long-ranged. I’m not safe even if I stay away from him, so what do I do?’ He raised his hand and pressed the communicator. “Come in, what’s the situation?!”

**_“It’s not good!”_ **

“Are you ignoring me again? I’ll get your attention!”

**_“Bakugou, use that stored up power again, and I’ll stop this fight; your team will lose!”_ ** Kaachan scowled and looked up at the ceiling. “Huh?!”

**_“To employ such an attack indoors is inviting the destruction of the stronghold you should be protecting! That’s a poor strategy, whether you’re Hero or villain! The penalty would be a massive loss of points!”_ ** Kaachan growled at that and glanced down to the floor. Izuku quietly stood up. “Fine then!”

“The pillar by the window, get there now!”

“We’ll fight HAND TO HAND!” Izuku flinched as he saw Kaachan rocketing towards him with anger burning in his eyes. He slid his foot to dodge, but the ground broke a little under him. ‘It’s no good! I can’t dodge this, I’ll have to counterattack!’ He clenched his right fist and swung, aiming to knock Kaachan away from him. Just as he thrust his arm to block, Kaachan brought his left arm and let out an explosion on his unprotected arm. That allowed him to flip over Izuku’s body as he grunted in pain.

He let out two explosions when he was behind the green haired boy, one in each hand. The one closest to him scorched his back, and Izuku let out a yell of pain. He stepped away to try and control how much of the explosion injured his back, and a yell from his former friend had him glancing back. “HERE IT COMES, NERD!”  His eyes widened as he saw Kaachan run straight at him at top speed. “THE FAMOUS RIGHT HOOK YOU WERE WHINING ABOUT!” He slammed the plastic hard against Izuku’s elbow, making him let out another yell. Kaachan then grabbed it and used his explosions to get in front of him. “Deku, DON’T YOU EVER FORGET WHAT YOU ARE!” He screamed and threw him into the ground, slamming his opponent into the cement and effectively using Izuku’s own move against him. “YOU’RE A WEAKLING!” 

Izuku gazed at the ceiling in desperation. ‘He’s not giving me anytime to form a strategy. I can’t beat him without a quirk after all. He’s too good. I have no choice; I have to use it.’  Izuku slowly got up, panting as he made it to his feet. He glanced around him before quickly running, using his hands to propel himself farther whenever he lost his balance. He made it to the window and he stood up straight, facing Kaachan with fear clinging onto his body. Kaachan walked towards him. “Why won’t you use your damn quirk against me?! Still think you can stop me without it?!”

Izuku’s eyes shot to the ground. “That’s not it.”

“You’ve been hiding your true power for years, what’s the deal Deku?! DID YOU THINK YOU WERE BETTER THAN ME THIS ENTIRE TIME?!”

“That’s what you think?  _ You idiot _ .” He met the shocked eyes of the blond. “You’ve always been stronger, Kaachan. I KNOW you’re better than me! Can’t you see? THAT’S WHY I WANT TO BEAT YOU; BECAUSE YOU’RE AMAZING!” 

“You’re even more of an idiot than I realized. COME AT ME!” The two launched themselves at each other, each prepping for a right hook. Izuku could feel  _ One for All _ power up his arm, the skin glowing as reed veins of sheer strength coursed through the limbs, somehow tearing what little fabric on his arm he had left. Explosions popped from Kaachan’s hand once more, and he could see the palm of his hand glowing red with the heat.

_ “Detroit-” _

**_“BOTH OF YOU, STO-”_ **

“NOW, URARAKA!” Izuku screamed.  **_“On it!”_ **

‘There’s no way I can beat you, not in a one on one fight like this. But I can win!’ With that thought, Izuku changed the punch from undercut into an uppercut and swiftly brought up his other arm.  _ “SMASH!” _ Kaachan’s explosion was blocked by Izuku’s left arm as the force from his right shattered the ceilings and all the windows in the building, blowing a hole in the roof. 

He heard the distant shout of Iida and Uraraka’s voice bubbled into his ear.  **_“This is it! Sorry Iida!_ ** **Improvised Special Move: That Coming Home RUN!** **_”_ **

A few seconds later, her voice came over the speaker in his ear once more.  **_“I GOT IT!”_ ** She yelled, sounding exhausted.

“This was your big plan, from the very beginning, wasn’t it?!” Kaachan’s voice reached his ears as his vision faded in and out. Even his hearing was starting to fade, for there was a faint ringing that was getting stronger in his ears. “You were playing me this entire time,  _ you bastard _ !”

“I wasn’t,” Izuku felt a few tears slip down his face. He couldn’t stop them; too engulfed in pain to stop his tears. Even talking was a painful battle, “Going to use it. Because...I can’t control it.” He could barely see the smoke fade away. “My body just can’t handle...the backlash of my power yet...Mr. Aizawa said I’d be useless..But this...was all I could..think of.” He barely heard a gasp as the smoke finally cleared, and Izuku slowly and shakily lowered his arm. “This was the only way..I had any chance at winning..”

**_“You did it. The Hero team,”_** Izuku closed his eyes and fell, not able to feel anything anymore as the pain knocked him unconscious, ** _“WINS!”_**

* * *

You walked into the building with your teammates, Sero and Kirishima. Following them to the room where the fake weapon laid, you sighed as you rubbed your hip. 

You didn’t know what exactly happened at the end of the match, for you had to leave before you had a panic attack, but you knew the gist of it. You were there when they went over the results. Midoriya had gotten so hurt he passed out, but managed to make it until the end of the match. He was now in Recovery Girl’s office, getting patched up, and his teammate and opponents were well enough to continue watching with the rest of the class.

You watched as Sero ejected tape from his arms, surrounding the missile in a sticky barrier. Kirishima activated his quirk, and his skin hardened into something like rock. You opted to meditate behind them, back facing away from the duo to keep it a little fair for the Hero team.    


**_“Begin indoor combat training! Team J and Team H, your time starts now!”_ **

You sighed and began breathing in and out, trying to block out all the sounds in the room and focus on the meditation process Kanda showed you. You knew it was safe to do this in plain sight; the other team shouldn’t try and capture you thanks to you announcing that you were going to sit out on this round. To make up for the disadvantage of the Heros fighting against someone completely new and for the fact the other would know their fighting style, they were allowed to continue on in this building if they hadn’t found the weapon by the end of the round. If they had, they were to move to another building. 

A tap on your shoulder dragged you back to reality, and you turned to see a grinning Kirishima. Behind him Sero leaned against the weapon. “Who won?” 

“The Heros.” The redhead shrugged apologetically. You smiled and shrugged back. You climbed to your feet and glanced back at your teammates. “So, who’s sitting out?” You say as you all exited the building. Kirishima nodded at your opponents and only then did you realize that both your teammates had tape bound around a wrist or an ankle. “I will!” Kirirshima replied immediately. “They completely overpowered me, which then allowed them to ambush Sero, while he was waiting outside the room. I think it’s best if you and Sero worked together, Walker!” You nodded and turned to Sero.

“Any objections?” He shook his head. “Alright! Good work, you two!” You say and patted them both on the back. Kirishima sent you a grin, and Sero nodded. The three of you entered the second building, with you waving at Tsuyu and her partner, and quickly found the other weapon. Kirishima stood at the far corner, in plain sight of the door, and crossed his arms. “Hey, Sero? You know what you did before? Do you think you could do that again? That might be useful!”

“You mean, this?” He asked and shot out a piece of tape. It stuck to the wall behind you. You smiled widely. “Yes! That! Also, does your tape hurt more than regular tape if you put it on someone?” He cocked his head to the side and one of his hands came up to where his chin would be. “Uh, no, it shouldn’t.”

“Good! Can I borrow some?” He shot out a small piece of tape and you skipped towards Kirishima. The teen raised an eyebrow. “Put this over your mouth and cover your eyes. That way, it’s fair to the Heros.” His face lit up in understanding and he took the tape from you. “Sure thing, Walker!”

**_“Begin indoor combat training. Your time starts now!”_ **

You turned back to Sero. “I think we should split up. One of us stays here and patrols the hallway outside while the other goes and sees if they can stop the Heros. I’ll go and stop them, agreed?” He huffed out a laugh. “Sounds kinda like our last strategy, but sure! Just don’t get ambushed like Kirishima..” The sound of protest coming from a gagged Kirishima had you both chuckling, and you quickly left the room. You glanced back at Sero and nodded before disappearing from his line of sight.  You jogged down the hallway before turning the corner where you immediately activated the  _ Dark Boots _ . The anklets shifted into the crystalized boots, and you jumped up. Twisting your body so you landed on your feet, you crouched and took off running on the ceiling.

You reached a window and peered out. No one out there, so you glanced back at the floor below you. Your hair flowed above your head and you frowned as you took your hair out of the pigtails. You quickly put it into a bun and pressed the communicator in your ear. "Sero, come in!" You whispered as you continued crawling on the ceiling, keeping to the corners and shadows. 

**_"What's up?"_ **

"Everything good on your end?"

**_"Yup. Literally no one here besides Kirishima. You?"_ **

"Haven't found them yet. Wait, hold on!" You paused as you heard faint voices. You closed your eyes. Smiling, you opened your eyes and quickly but quietly made your way to a staircase. "I heard them. I'll contact you when I have a visual. Over and out." With that, you stopped in a shadowed corner, waiting for the two to pass under you. The voices grew louder, and you curled deeper into a crouch. 

"Hey Tokoyami?" Tsuyu's whispers echoed through the hall, and you grinned. "Hmm?"

"What if Aleah finds us? We don't know what she's capable of, and she's a lot faster than Iida. She could be anywhere." They came into view. Tsuyu had a finger to her mouth and protruding out from under Tokoyami’s cloak was two giant claws. You pressed the button on the earpiece. "I have a visual. Should I engage in combat?"

**_"Do it! I'll get ready to defend the weapon!"_ **

"Hm, you are correct in that." The bird teen shifted and a shadow double popped out of his back. "Dark Shadow, search." 

**"On it!"** You shuddered at the grating voice as the bird creature flew past your hiding spot. It came back a moment later. **"Clear!"** The two continued on, and as soon as their backs were to you, you powered up your boots. They lit up with green electricity and you jumped down. The giant creature poking out from Tokoyami’s back whirled around with a snarl. Pushing off your back leg, you rocketed towards them. Dark Shadow hissed as it tried to block your kick.

With a grunt, you slammed the shadow into the ground, knocking it out of your way and grabbing the tape by your hip. You used the shadow as a springboard, following your two classmates as they tried to create some ground between you and them.

Tsuyu opened her mouth and her tongue shot out, trying to latch onto your arm. You twisted, rolling to the ground and popping back up onto your feet. When you glanced back up, Tsuyu had disappeared and Dark Shadow slashed at you from behind. You jumped, landing on the ceiling above you before running the opposite way of Tokoyami. "Sero! Heads up; Froggy got away!" Hearing a hissing sound from behind you, you flipped away right when a giant black claw slashed at the spot you once were at. 

**_"Got it! Focus on the bird dude and come back when he's down!"_ ** You moved your legs out from under you and slid on the tiles, shifting so you could prep yourself into a run. You crouched and pushed off, landing kick after kick to the punches the shadow sent, blocking all as you ran closer.

Tokoyami clenched his jaw before dodging your latest kick. You crouched and tackled him to the ground, knocking the breath out of him and you shifted your body to block another attack from the shadow. You kicked it away and quickly wrapped the tape around his wrist. You jumped up once it was tied, and Tokoyami sighed heavily. You helped him up before running away towards where the weapon was located.  You skidded to a halt in front of the door and peeked in. Sero stood in front of the weapon with his arms crossed, facing the door. You glanced around you, looking for any sign of green and black. When there was none, you sighed softly.

“Sero,” You whispered into the communicator, “I’m right outside the door. No sign of Tsuyu. I’m coming in.” You quickly backed into the room, head glancing left and right as you disappeared into the room. You let out a heavy breath and turned to Sero as you pushed your back to the wall next to the door. “Hey!”

He nodded at you and the two of you were engulfed in silence. A few minutes later, you heard a soft sound down the hallway. “Ribbit.” Your head whipped around to look at Sero, and he tilted his head at you. You jerked your head to the left and mimicked Tsuyu’s stance; hands splayed near your belly and tongue poking out between your lips. He nodded and immediately readied his tape. A moment passed as you waited for Tsuyu to appear.

A blur of green raced passed you and you pushed off the wall to intercept it. Sero shot out a piece of tape to stop her, yet she twisted away to avoid it and you skidded to a halt. The tape grazed your nose and you tilted back a little. Your eyes stayed on Tsuyu as she frantically hopped to the weapon, jumping off pieces of tape and the wall as Sero tried to stop her.

Narrowing your eyes, you dropped to the ground. Planting your feet firmly on the cement, you glanced at your teammates. “Kirishima, Sero! Jump and grab something!!” They followed your order and you dropped your head. “Waltz: Mist Wind!” You sucked in a gulp of air and threw your legs around in a circle. Expertly moving your arms out of the way of your legs, you kept a careful eye on your friend as she was sucked towards your ball of wind. You stopped, feet skidding as you landed in a crouch. Catching Tsuyu as she fell, you wrapped some of the capture tape around her wrist while pinning her to the ground.

**_“The villain team WINS! Good job, you guys!”_ ** You huffed and quickly helped the frog girl to her feet. You brushed off some dirt on her suit and you hugged her tightly. “I am SO sorry if I hurt you! I really didn’t want to, so I used the least damaging move I have, but it can still hurt! Are you alright?!” You leaned back and glanced over her body, looking for any injuries you may have caused. She laughed with a gentle expression.

“I’m fine, Aleah! I have to say that was pretty fun!” You sighed in relief as Kirishima fist bumped the air and Sero clapped. “ALRIGHT! That was amazing, Walker! How did you do that?!” You ducked your head and shrugged, skipping towards the doorway, Innocence deactivating.

* * *

You sighed as you gathered your things, eyes glancing at the door. “Todoroki?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you think Midoriya’s going to be alright?” You nervously tugged your at fingers. “I mean, he practically passed out thanks to what Bakugou put him through, and his arms looked really bad.. And he’s still at the Nurse’s office, even though he’s been there all day, now.” You turned to look at Todoroki. He stared at you with the same face you met him with. “You don’t think he died from the shock, do you? It’s a real thing, but it didn’t look like he sustained that many bad injuries, so maybe that’s not it..”

The door opened, and Midoriya walked in. You felt relief wash over you and you jumped out of your seat. “STRAWBERRY! YOU’RE ALIVE!” You ran over to him and hugged him tightly, being careful of the arm in the sling. “Huh, he DOES look like one!” Uraraka replied and bounced over to the green haired boy. His blush grew deeper as more people surrounded him.

“What are you two talking about?” Ojiro asked as he finished packing up. “Aleah said that Deku looks like a strawberry when he blushes, and I’m only just now seeing it!” Kirishima leaned closer to Midoriya’s face. “I see it, too!” He leaned back and ruffled Midoriya’s already messed up hair. “Good to see you walking around, Midoriya!” The redhead said with a grin.

Midoriya glanced around. “Where’s Kaachan?” You tilted your head. “Who?”

“Ah, Bakugou!” You nodded your head slowly, lips tugging into a smile. “Ohhh! You just missed him! Also, that is one hell of an adorable nickname!” You say as you release him. “I think he’s almost outside.” He nodded and ran back out of the room. You watched him go with a mildly surprised look. “Well, there he goes…” You muttered and walked to the window.

“What are you doing, Aleah?” Hagakure asked you and you shrugged. “Watching.”

“Watching what?” You glanced at her. “Ah, just the sunset. I know we can’t see the sun going down at this angle, but it’s still fun to watch the red and oranges bleed into purple!” She hummed at your answer. “Aren’t you going to go home?”    


_ -A dark tower loomed over you, surrounded by millions of bat-like creatures with large screens for faces. The air around it seemed cold with despair and fear, but it welcomed you with warm arms and greetings.- _

_ -A dark tower, half destroyed and continuing to fall apart, whispered good-bye as you left it in its grave.- _

_ -The cathedral-like building towered above you, empty, but soon filled with warmth. Laughs and tears were shared in the halls, but you had to leave them behind with tears in your eyes. The whispers tugged at your mind as you left for safety.- _

_ -A much smaller building greeted you with happy smiles and open arms, yet it was still guarded. You weren't sure if you liked it, but you knew it was better and safer. Maybe..it could be  _ **_home_ ** _.- _

“Yeah,” You met Todoroki’s eyes in the window reflection, “Yeah, I will.” You glanced out the window. Midoriya and Bakugou were there now.

"Eventually."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welp, i don't really like Aleah's fight, but meh. i hope you all liked this chapter, and have an amazing day/night! you're all AWESOME! XP


	5. Chapter 4

You sighed as you looked out the window, groaning as the crowd at the gates stayed. “What’s wrong, Aleah?” Present Mic asked from his desk. You turned your stolen rolly chair to him. “There’s a crowd of news reporters in front. I’m pretty sure they’re harassing all the students coming in and out.”

“Wait, seriously?” Midnight asked as she walked to the window. “That is a lot of reporters.” You kicked the chair away from the window and towards Aizawa’s empty desk. “Think they might be here thanks to All Might?” You say as you start playing with one of his pencils. “That’s the only reason they would be here,” Aizawa replied as he appeared next to you and you jumped, scattering the pencils on his desk. “Welcome back!” You smile happily as you clean up the mess. “What were you doing?” 

“Nothing that concerns you.” You pouted. “Oh, boo!” You jerked your head to the window. “Anyways, the crowd isn’t leaving, and I’m pretty sure they’re considering blocking the students from the gate to get their answers. Heck, I saw one of them try and enter to find you guys.” Cementoss frowned as he looked out the window. “This isn’t going to end well if we continue doing nothing. Maybe we should send some people out to send them away.” Present Mic stood up. “I’ll do it!” He sang loudly and walked out as Aizawa sighed harshly. 

“I’ll go make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.” He said and followed the blond teacher out of the room. Your eyes slowly traveled from the door to the other teachers. “Should I go ahead and go to class now?” Midnight waved her hand in a shoo-ing gesture and you giggled as you grabbed your bag. “See you guys later!” You say and run out the door, heading to the classroom. All your classmates were there conversing, and once they saw you, they started quieting down and heading to their seats. “Hey, Walker!” Kirishima called to you, peering around you for Aizawa and calling everyone’s attention. “Where’s Aizawa? Doesn’t he come in near the time you do?” You shrugged with a smile. “He’s gone with Present Mic to try and control that crowd out there! Guess we’re alone for a while!” Mina stood up with a smile on her face.

“Lets just hang out until he comes back!” Unsurprisingly, most of the class instantly agreed. You smiled fondly as the girls of the class huddled together. Turning to the back of the class, you skipped your way to your usual spot; right next to Todoroki. “Good morning!” You sang with a smile. He nodded at you, peering at you in hidden curiosity. You noticed despite him not wanting you to. “What? Something on my face? There is, isn’t there?” 

“You seem a lot more awake compared to the first day.” He said, his voice surprising you slightly. You had grown accustomed to him saying one or two words and you doing all the talking. You didn’t mind it, and you definitely didn’t expect it to change. “Ah, that might be because I have to wake up early now; I’m still adjusting my sleep schedule.”  
  
“Why is that?” You tilted your head and put a finger to your chin. “Cause I have a teacher as a guardian, and they come early in the morning? Also, they don’t trust me going to and from school, so I have to come with ‘em?” You smiled and glanced at the time. “Hmm, the crowd must be really stubborn."

"They didn't leave." You jumped, limbs flying everywhere as the entire class scurried to their seats. "Stop being a ninja!" You gave Aizawa an offended look as he set his stuff down on the podium. He stared right back.

"Good morning class," He rubbed his eyes in an angry, tired way, his voice still monotone. "Decent work on yesterday's combat training, you guys. I saw the video feed and went over each of your teams' results. Bakugou, you're talented, so don't sulk like a child, okay?" You snorted at that, and the teen whipped around to glare at you. You smiled innocently. "Yeah, whatever." He turned around.

"And Midoriya," The green haired boy flinched violently and hung his head, "I see the only way you won the match was by messing up your arm again. Work harder and don't give me the excuse that you don't have any control over your quirk. That line's already getting old. You can't keep breaking your body while training here, but your quirk will be really useful _if_ you can get a handle on it. So, show a little urgency, huh?" You grinned as Midoriya perked up a little.

“Right!”

“Now, let's get down to business; our first task will decide your future.” You felt the class’ dread rise. You narrowed your eyes suspiciously at him. “You all need to pick a class representative.” You tilted your head to the side. ‘That’s it?’

Kirishima immediately stood up with both arms raised. “I want to be class representative!” After that, several others raised their hands and started shouting in excitement. Bakugou shot his hand out, yelling the loudest. “Hold up, everybody!” Iida yelled, but the class' volume surged.

You groaned and stood up with your hands on your hips. Taking a deep breath, you yelled. "EVERYBODY, SHUT UP!" The class jumped and turned to you, the room deadly silent. You sighed with a faintly annoyed expression. "Thank you. Iida was trying to get your attention, please listen." With that you sat down and Iida cleared his throat, still startled by your outburst. "W-Well, what I was going to say was that the class representative's duty is to lead others. It's not something anyone can do; you must first have the trust of every student in the classroom. Therefore, the most logical way to fill this position is democratically. We hold an election to choose our leader!"

Your eyes traveled from his head to his hand, which was high in the air. You huffed with amusement. You watched as the class glanced at each other, vocally questioning Iida before agreeing. You stood up again and skipped to the chalkboard as Aizawa fell asleep. Picking up the chalk, you quickly but neatly wrote each student's name down on it, minus your own. You turned to everyone else with a smile. "Now, here are the rules; you only have one vote. The person with the most votes becomes the Class Rep, and the person in second will be the Vice Class Rep! Agreed?" Everyone nodded.

You quickly put a hash mark next to Midoriya's name and handed the chalk to someone else. Walking back to your seat, you glanced over to him. He looked confused at your action, but he also seemed happy. His face was covered in a blush as he watched you sit next to Todoroki. You turned to Todoroki. "You going to vote?" 

"No." You nodded respectfully and pulled out a small bundle of string. You wrapped the fabric around your fingers and started to play with it, eyes following your fingers' movements as you twisted it into cat whiskers. You looked up to see Todoroki watching you, and with a grin, you brought the string up to your face. "Meow!" His lips slightly twitched, pulling into a soft, small smile. 'Yes! Success!' 

You giggled and continued to play with it. "Here are the results!" Someone said and you turned your attention to the board, fingers still flying through the steps in _Cats and Cradle_. Your eyes traveled to the very top where you wrote Midoriya’s name and you smiled. “How did I get four votes?!” He cried and you snickered. Momo had two, putting her with the Vice Class Rep title.

“Okay, you idiots! Who voted for him!” Your hand shot up immediately as Uraraka whistled innocently while glancing away. “What, did you honestly think anyone was going to vote for you?” Sero cut in. “WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!” You glanced at Iida. His shoulders were shaking slightly, and you could almost hear the hope breaking into a million pieces. “Zero votes? I feared that this might happen, but I can’t argue with the system I chose.”

“So you voted for someone else, huh?” Momo asked. Another classmate frowned worriedly at him. “Well, you knew it was best to vote for yourself, right? What were you trying to prove, Iida?”

“Alright,” Aizawa cut in, ushering Midoriya and Momo to the front of the room. ‘When did he wake up?’ You blinked and tried to untangle your fingers, “The Class Rep is Midoriya, and our deputy is Yaoyorozo.”

“R-Really?” Midoriya trembled in the front of the class. “It-It’s not a mistake?” Momo sighed. “How did this happen?”

“This might not be so bad!” Tsuyu placed her finger to her lips. “Yeah, I can get by with Midoriya I guess!” Kirishima added with a grin.

“And Yaoyorozu was totally on top of it when it came to our training results!”

You smiled with pride at Midoriya, completely missing the look Todoroki sent you.

* * *

Stretching, you stood up from your desk and grabbed your bag. “I guess I’ll see you later, Todoroki!” You say and start heading for the teacher’s lounge. A hand on your elbow stopped you from going any further and you turned to see the dual haired teen facing you. You raised an eyebrow and smiled at him. “Yeah? What’s up?” He started tugging you, and with a shrug, you allowed him to. He led you to the cafeteria and you gave him a confused look. “Why did you bring me here?”

“Eat with me.” He led you to a secluded table and sat down. You sat down in the chair opposite of him. “You aren’t going to get food from Lunch Rush?” You shook your head, starting to be concerned. “Nah, I brought food. My guardian made me some so I wouldn’t have to use chopsticks!” You said as you placed a lunchbox on the table. He hummed as you opened the box and took out a Tupperware container. “I’ll be back.” You glanced up and saw that Todoroki was walking away. Shrugging, you placed your feet atop his chair to ward off other people. 

A few minutes later, he came back with a weird looking tray. You glanced at passing students with trays. Yup, it was definitely not a regular tray. You slid your feet off his chair as he placed the tray on the table. “What is that?”

“Cold soba.” You hummed and opened the container as he started eating. “Want me to warm that up for you?” Glancing up, you cocked your head to the side. “Sure? If you want.” With that, he slid both the lid and container to him. Snapping the lid back on, he placed his left hand on top of it, and the walls slowly clouded with moisture. He slid it back to you and continued eating. You peeled the lid off and steam rose up from the food.

“Woah,” He glanced up at you as you took out your fork and knife. You cut into your steak and popped a small bite into your mouth after blowing on it. You chewed, humming in delight, and quickly swallowed. “Thank you!” You say and took another bite. 

“Who do you live with?” You blinked and furrowed your brows. “Hmm?”

Todoroki glanced away. “Just curious. You mentioned having a guardian several times now, and even stated that they were a teacher here. I’m wondering who it is.” You leaned back and glanced around. “Guess.” His eyes returned to you as you looked out the window. “I’ve given you plenty of hints; you just gotta find ‘em and bring them all together!”

“Why can’t you just tell me outright?” You shrugged and smiled apologetically. “I promised I wouldn’t tell. But,” You winked, “They didn’t say anything about not answering truthfully when people guess.” He nodded with a serious expression and you took a bite of your mac’n’cheese. The cheese was creamy, and had bits of bacon baked into the top part. ‘Present Mic really is a good cook!’ 

“I see. Well,” You stole a glance at him while taking a sip of water from your water bottle, “I’ll just have to watch closely.” He glanced at your hands and food. “So, why can’t you use chopsticks?”

“I’ve never used them before moving here, so I’m severely out of practice. I can’t even pick up a piece of shrimp.” 

“And what are you eating?” Todoroki pointed at the noodles next to your steak. “It’s called mac’n’cheese. It’s really good! Wanna try?” He stared for a minute before slowly nodding. Wiping off your fork, you stabbed a few pieces and held it out to him. “Sorry, I only have one fork.” He shrugged and took the fork, shoving the food in his mouth. He blinked and handed the fork back to you, chewing slowly. You wiped off the fork a second time. “Well? Do you like it?”

“It’s unusual.” You smiled and continued eating. “I’m not quite sure I like it.” Shrugging, you turned back at him. “Ah, that’s normal when you try something for the first time. Speaking of which, can I try yours? I’ve never had cold soba before!” He nodded and slid your container to him yet again. He portioned a small amount of noodles next to your mac’n’cheese and gave it back to you. Twirling your fork in the noodles, you shoved it into your mouth and blinked. Swallowing, you tilted your head. “Huh. I was not expecting that.”

“Expecting what?” 

“The flavor. I wasn’t expecting it to have a-what’s the word?” You leaned your forehead on your fist, searching for the word. Suddenly, a loud alarm went off, and your limbs jerked in different directions as Todoroki’s gaze shot to the ceiling. **_“Warning: We have a breach in security. Please evacuate the building in an orderly fashion.”_ ** You glanced out the window as everyone rushed to the exit. Something flashed outside, reminding you of a camera or a screen reflecting off the sunlight. A hand grabbed yours and tugged you out of your seat. You glanced up and saw Todoroki trying to drag you out.

“W-Wait, Todoroki!” He glanced back at you. "Something's off!" You say as you glance back at the window. "Let's wait for a few minutes!" 

"Why?" You glanced at the crowd near the exit with a pointed look. He followed your gaze and gave you a confused look. “Look at how they’re exiting,” You pointed at the other students, “They’re panicking, so they’re trying to get out faster. That’s causing everyone to block the exit, making them easy pickings for those who want to harm us. If we get caught in that, we might get hurt. _Someone_ will eventually get hurt. We’ll be safer if we wait for the crowd to die down. Plus, we can help someone if they're hurt." Todoroki glanced back at the crowd and nodded.

You took a glance back at the window. “Hey, did you see anything odd outside? When the alarm went off?” 

“No, why?”

“I thought I saw a camera flash, or a screen reflecting sunlight. I think the press may have found a way inside.” You felt him place his hand on your shoulder. “It is a possibility. Are you sure?” You nodded as you continued to search for anything unusual. Something caught your eye, and you moved closer to the window to see it better. “Look!” Pointing, you directed Todoroki’s gaze to the far left. Through the leaves, you could see video cameras and reporters. "I was right."

You turned back to the crowd with worry on your face. "What should we do?"

Suddenly, the crowd stopped moving and everyone slowly walked back onto the cafeteria to make room. They exited calmly once the exit was free. You blinked in confusion. "What just happened?"

* * *

You flopped down into your chair with a huff. "God, that was hell." You say as you put your lunch on your desk. It was still warm and you didn't finish, so you opened it up and continued to eat. "Are you alright?" You nodded, mouth stuffed with food. The rest of the class walked in slowly, and you caught Midoriya's eye. Chewing, you gave him a confused look as his fearful expression increased when he looked at the podium. You gave him a small, reassuring smile as you swallowed. He looked a bit better than he did before and you quickly went back to your food.

Everyone sat down in their seats as Aizawa tiredly slouched in the corner. Midoriya and Momo stood in the front. "It's time, Class Rep. Let's begin." Momo said as she turned to the smaller teen.

"Um, okay," His body locked up a bit as everyone's eyes landed on him. You continued to finish your lunch, "So we need to figure out who the other class officers will be, but first there's something I want to say." He glanced down before meeting your eyes. You nodded, “I’ve thought a lot about this and I think that Iida should be our Class Rep. He was able to capture everyone’s attention and get us in line, so I believe that he should be the one leading our class from now on.” He looked up with a confident smile. You saw Iida shift in surprise and you grinned, shrugging as the rest of the class agreed to Midoriya’s statement.

Iida glanced at Midoriya and the green haired boy nodded at him.

“This is a waste of time,” Aizawa called out and Midoriya jumped, “I don’t care who the rep is, just hurry.” He laid back down and Iida stood up, arms glued to his side. “If Midoriya is nominating me for this job, then I humbly accept. I pledge to carry out the duties of the Class Rep to the best of my abilities.” Kirishima grinned. “Sounds good, emergency exit!”

“Emergency exit Iida! Don’t let us down, man!” Momo slumped in confusion and disappointment. “But I got two votes?” You giggled at her, giving her a small reassuring smile. With one last bite, you put the container away back into your bag.

* * *

“Alright, now that that’s over and done with,” Aizawa said as he slipped out of his sleeping bag, "We're going to a training area outside of campus with three Pros teaching. Go get your stuff, you'll need it."

"Sir! What kind of training is this?" 

"Rescue. You'll be dealing with natural disasters; shipwrecks, stuff like that." Kaminari turned to Mina with an excited grin. "Rescue, huh? Sounds like we're in for a big workout." 

"Totally!"

"Real Hero stuff! This is what separates the real men from the boys! I'm shaking with excitement!" You chuckled at that and turned to Todoroki. "You excited?" He shrugged. "Not particularly." You nodded at that.

“Finally I get to show off how good I am in water, ribbit!” You caught Aizawa’s attention and sent him a worried look. He nodded slightly, reassuring you only a little. You played with your fingers. “Guys, I’m not finished yet.” The whole class flinched and quickly quieted down. “What you wear in this exercise is up to you. I know you’re excited about costumes,” He pushed a button on a remote and the walls split apart again, “But keep in mind that you haven’t gotten used to them yet, and they might limit your abilities. This special training is on an off-campus facility, so we’ll be taking a bus to get there. That’s all; start getting ready.” With that, he started walking away and the class quickly got up and grabbed their costumes.

You grabbed your box and left the room, running towards the locker rooms to change. Stuffing your uniform into it, you skipped to the bus with your box in tow. Aizawa was already there, and you quickly put your change of clothes into the space below the seats. Closing the metal door with a slam, you turned back to your guardian. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” 

“Yes, now stop worrying. You won’t hurt anyone; there’ll be dummies, and like I said before,” He gazed at you with his dark eyes, “You have a lot more control than you think.” You shook your head. “It’s not that, I just have a bad feeling.”

“About what?” You turned your gaze to the trees, chewing on your bottom lip. “Something bad is going to happen. I don’t know what, but it’ll happen.” You jumped as the sound of an engine growled, the sound coming closer as Iida appeared. He skidded to a halt and you slipped a smile onto your face. In his gloved hands, he held a paper. You squinted and tilted your head. “Uh, Iida?”

“Yes?”

“What’s up with the paper?” The blue haired teen looked down. “Ah, this is the seating arrangement!” You glanced at Aizawa. He was facing away, as if he wasn’t paying attention, yet you knew he was. “For what?”

“The bus, of course!” You nodded slowly. “You do realize everyone isn’t going to listen to that?” You heard a soft snort coming from your guardian. Iida gave you a look. Raising your hands in surrender, you took a step back. “Okay, okay. Sorry!” You watched with amusement as the bigger teen directed the oncoming class into the seating arrangement. “Walker!” He waved you over, “You’re over here!” You shrugged and skipped your way to the spot. 

A few minutes later, you all were on the bus, and you gently pat Iida’s head as he moped. “The bus’ layout ruined my boarding strategy!”

“There there,” You say softly as the bus left the parking lot. “We could use it next time?”

“Iida, you really need to chill!” Mina said while cocking her head to the side. Tsuyu blinked at Iida. “If we’re pointing out the obvious, there’s something I want to say,” She turned to Midoriya and you, ”About you two actually.” He flinched. “About me? What is it, Asyui?”

“I told you to call me Tsu.”

“Oh, yeah right,” He glanced away with a nervous smile. “That power of yours; isn’t it a lot like All Might’s?” You blinked in surprise. “So is yours, Aleah.” Midoriya flinched and turned his face the other way while rubbing his head. “What?! Really? Huh, I guess I never thought about it before..” Tsuyu shrugged and turned to you. “I mean, All Might was able to change the weather with just one punch, and you were able to manipulate the air around us back in the combat training, Aleah! And Midoriya’s quirk pretty much destroys his limbs from the backlash!” You raised an eyebrow. “And..?”

“I just think it’s kinda weird how both of you have very similar quirks to All Might!” You smiled and, sighing almost inaudibly, stood up and carefully walked away from the conversation. Your gaze landed on Todoroki and you plopped yourself down next to him. He glanced at you. “You alright?”

You squinted at him. “I’m fine! Are you? You’ve been talking a lot more today than you usually do.” He blinked at that. “I am? I haven’t noticed.” You shrugged at that and swung your feet, glancing around your classmates. The bad feeling in the pit of your stomach increased. Your ‘danger’ sense deepened all the way to the training facility. 

“Hey, HEY, we’re here! Stop messing around!” The class quickly calmed down and you giggled quietly. “YES SIR.”

The bus parked and the entire class filed out of the vehicle. You stretched once you were able to stand without hitting anyone. Groaning a little, you peeked an eye open and watched the class follow Aizawa to the domed building. Todoroki glanced around before spotting you behind him, pausing in his walking. You quickly caught up and he resumed walking once you were by his side. You hummed as you walked, a bounce in your step, and soon you all entered the giant building. You blinked in confusion as you saw several different landscapes packed together below you. Right in front of the stairs was a Hero dressed in a space suit. You tilted your head as your features scrunched. Leaning to Todoroki, you whispered, “Who’s that?”

Izuku gasped in excitement. “It’s the Space Hero: Thirteen!” You hummed. “Nevermind.”

“Hello everyone!” A slightly robotic female voice called out, and it took you a minute before you realized that it was coming from the Hero before you, “I’ve been waiting for you!” Humming, you shifted your weight to one leg and laced your fingers behind your head, scrunching your nose. ‘How come I’ve never seen her before?’ She turned her body and gestured behind her. “I can’t wait to show you what’s inside!”

“THIS IS GONNA BE AWESOME!” You giggled as you followed the class further inside. “Holy crap, it looks like some kind of amusement park!” 

“A shipwreck; a landslide; a fire; a windstorm; ect!” Thirteen spread her arms out. “I created this training facility to prepare you to deal with different types of disasters! I call it; The Unforeseen Simulation Joint!” She turned to the class behind her. “But you can call it the U.S.J.!” Aizawa walked closer to her, slowly glancing around. “Hey, shouldn’t All Might be here already? Lemme guess, he booked an interview instead.” 

“Actually, it’s something else,” At this, she held up three fingers. Your brows furrowed, “Apparently he did too much Hero work on the way to school today and used up all his power. He’s resting in the teacher’s lounge.” Aizawa sighed harshly. “That man is the height of irresponsibility... Clock’s ticking! We should get started!” Thirteen raised her arms. “Excellent! Before we begin, let me say one thing! Well, maybe two things. Possibly three!”

You cocked your head a little in curiosity. In one second, the entire air around the class shifted drastically, and you shivered. “Listen carefully, I’m sure you’re aware that I have a powerful quirk. It’s called _Black Hole_. I can use it to suck up anything and turn it to dust. Some of you also have powers that could be dangerous. In our superhuman society, all quirks are certified and stringently regulated, so we often overlook how unsafe they can actually be. Please don’t forget that if you lose focus or make the wrong move, your powers can be deadly, even if you’re trying to do something virtuous like rescue someone.”

_-”You have run out of power.”-_

_-Chains wrapped around your upper body, twisting and digging painfully into your skin.-_

_-Your body’s weight increased drastically and you fell towards Earth with the strength and speed of a meteor.-_

_-You saw strands of hair burn and a metal hair tie melted in front of your eyes. The temperature rose significantly around you the longer it held you off._ -

 _-'Enshii_ , _I will not allow you to live.’-_

- _'Disappear.'_ -

 _-'_ _Disappear.'_ -

- ** _'Disappear.'_** -

You squeezed your elbow hard and shook your head. ‘Not now.’ 

“Thanks to Aizawa’s fitness tests, you have a solid idea of your quirks potential and because of All Might’s combat training, you likely experienced how dangerous your powers can be when used against other people. Carry those lessons over to this class. Today, you’re going to learn how to use your quirks to save people’s lives. You won’t be using your powers to attack enemies or each other, only to help. After all, that’s what being a Hero is all about; ensuring the safety of others.” Thirteen bowed to the crowd of teenagers before her. “That’s all I have to say! Thank you so much for listening!” You jumped as the entire class cheered loudly. You smiled in amusement at Todoroki before glancing back at the Space Hero. 

“Right, now that that’s over-” Aizawa was cut off by the lights lining the walls letting out a sound and quickly going out, one by one. Your eyes widened and you stiffened as the class gasped. The fountain in the middle of the room sputtered and stopped as the electricity went out. The space in front of it twisted, as if being sucked into a black hole and a purplish and black spot appeared. It twisted as it grew, and soon there was a giant glob of purple and black swirling around. It exploded and golden streaks appeared near the top half of the fire-like blob. A hand slowly appeared, pushing through the mist and was soon followed by a body.

Aizawa turned to the class with a serious look. "Stay together and don't move! Thirteen, protect the students!"

'Oh shit.' You activated your boots quickly as Kirishima stepped forward. "What is that thing?" A person slipped out of the smoky warp and other, more monstrous people followed. Kirishima brought a hand up to his eyes, shading them to see better. "Has the training started already? I thought we were wrestling people." 

"Stay back!" Aizawa yelled as he slipped his yellow goggles on, making the class flinch back. He glanced towards you while the class started panicking, the realization sinking in quickly. "This is real! Those are villains!" The person that came out first lifted a hand, pointing at your group. "The only real Heros I see are Thirteen and Eraserhead. Perplexing," He said in a scratchy, rough voice as a person the size of All Might appeared. You shuddered as your eyes took in it's appearance; skin a blue so dark it looked black, brain exposed to the air, and a bird-like face stared back at you. The mindless eyes stared straight into your own, never blinking or moving.

- _Mindless eyes stared back at you, clouded over with bloodlust as the Akuma transformed in front of you._ -

- _A large bullet shot passed you, almost grazing your ear, and your Master pushed you back._ -

"According to the schedule we'd retrieved from U.A., All Might should be here as well." A deeper voice replied to the villain with a dismembered hand as a mask. 

"So you scumbags used the press as a cover and sneaked onto campus," Aizawa said, body stiffening as he prepared for a battle. "Where is he?" The villain looked around, searching for something. _What was he looking for?_ "I went through the trouble of bringing so many friends who are eager to meet him; they want All Might, the great Symbol of Peace. I can't believe he's not here." He tilted his head. "Maybe if I kill a few kids, he'll come out to play." Your eyes widened and Aizawa disappeared. You looked towards the middle of the crowd of villains and he was there, scarf waving in the air as he slammed his foot into a villain's face. 

"Thirteen?!" Momo stepped forward with an uncertain expression. "Why aren't the alarms going off?"

"Good question, I'm not quite sure." Your eyes skimmed the crowd of people below you. "They're jamming the signal," You say, catching everyone's attention, "They've got someone with an electric quirk somewhere. Didn't you all see the lights? They went out. They don't want us leaving and they don't want backup from the school to come. They're smart and probably desperate, making them even more dangerous."

Todoroki glanced at you. "Is the entire campus under attack, or is this their only target? Either way, if the alarm sensors aren't being triggered, then what Walker says is true. They carefully chose this isolated facility as an entry point at a time when a class was being taught." His gaze went back to the villains below. "They're fools for trespassing here, but they've thought this out. Whatever they're planning they must have a concrete objective in mind, but what is it?" You tapped a finger to your lips, slowly starting to pace in a small circle. "They said something about All Might, so it's involving him, and they've got someone as big as him. I bet they're thinking they can take him on." Uraraka nervously tugged at her fingers. "And they thought he was going to be here, didn't they?" You nodded at that, the gears turning quickly in your head. You glanced up, and your gaze skimmed across your classmates. They all had scared expressions painted on their faces. Your eyes narrowed and you turned to the Pro Hero. "Thirteen, you're in charge here. What do we do?"

She turned to you. "Right now, we need to leave. Kaminari, try to use your quirk to contact the campus! Walker, Iida, since you two are the fastest, I want you both to run as fast as you can to the campus to get back up if Kaminari can't reach them. Let's go!" The class started running towards the door and you paused, glancing back at Aizawa. Your eyes traveled to the giant bird man. With a glare, you turned and ran, boots propelling you farther than your regular feet would. You quickly caught up to the class, and when everyone was about twenty feet away from the exit, a black warp appeared, blocking your escape. 

“There is no escape for you.” You bit back a curse as you stopped, heels glowing with your agitation. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. We are the League of Villains. I know it’s impolite, but we decided to invite ourselves into this haven of justice to say hello. And besides, isn’t this a fitting place for All Might, the Symbol of Peace, to take his last breath?” You glared at him, smiling at him threateningly as the class gasped. “I believe he was supposed to be here today, and yet, I see no sign of him. There must have been some sort of change in plans we could not have foreseen. Ah, well, I suppose it doesn’t matter, I still have a role to play.” Your eyes widened as Bakugou and Kirishima jumped, aiming punches at the cloud of mist. “IDIOTS! DON’T DO IT!”

An explosion rocked the ground and your classmates staggered. As the smoke cleared, you stiffened, waiting for an attack to come. “Did you think we were just gonna stand around and let you tear this place to shreds?” The redhead yelled, and you could imagine a grin splitting his face. “You live up to a serious reputation, but you should be more careful, children, otherwise someone might get hurt.” You groaned lowly. ‘Of course that wouldn’t work.’

“You two, out of the way right now!” Thirteen yelled, causing the two to look back at her. “I’ll scatter you across this facility to meet my comrades, and your death!” The black smoke from his body grew and extended to surround the class. “Crap, what is this?” You heard Kirishima yell, yet you couldn’t see where he was. The darkness blocked your vision, and you stumbled.

- _The shadows engulfed your vision. The blindfold was tied tightly around your eyes, preventing you from looking around for an exit. The chains were heavy, and they tied your arms tightly to the bed. Your cheeks were sticky with dried tears. It was silent in the room, no one there to prevent your thoughts turning sour. Suddenly, the door opened and your body instinctively stiffened. “Aleah!” You gasped softly and strained to reach the person. “B-Big sis!” The blindfold came off, and your eyes squinted to block out the sudden bright light._ -

Your eyes shot open and you sat up quickly. 'What the hell?' Glancing around, you noticed Todoroki crouching next to you. "You alright?" You shakily nodded, shifting so you could stand as you let your gaze wander. You both were surrounded by rock, and for a second, you worried you may have been buried alive. A quick glance above quickly shot that thought down and you sighed in relief. You were still in the U.S.J., and your classmates were nowhere in sight. "Um, where are we?" Todoroki glanced around and shrugged as you both stood. “Probably in one of the disaster sites.” 

You nodded and grabbed your companion’s sleeve, gripping it tightly and glancing around as you did so. “Is anyone else from our class here?” He shook his head. “Not that I know of.” You hummed and tapped a finger on your cheek. “That mist dude said something about meeting his companions as he separated us. That means there’s thugs around here somewhere.”

“We should be on our guard.” Todoroki replied and started walking briskly away. You followed him, activating your Innocence. You felt the crystalized blood engulf your legs, forming impenetrable armour. You glanced around you, looking for any movement as you trailed behind the red and white haired teen. You felt eyes on you, watching your every movement. Your hearing picked up on a sound, so small you probably wouldn’t have heard it if you weren’t looking for it. The sound of pebbles falling onto the ground with a _clickety clack_ brought your attention to your right, and something flashed from behind a rock. You gasped and pushed Todoroki out of the way. “Look out!” You landed hard on him and as soon as you were able to crouch, you slammed your heel into the ground at an angle, causing the rock to split and jut out. It created a shield for the both of you, allowing Todoroki some time to sit up as bullets of fire shot towards you. Ice crystals were starting to form in his right hand as he glanced at you. “Nice going.” You smiled and bowed as much as you could while crouching behind the rock shield.

“Looks like they found us first,” You say and peered out from behind the wall as muffled cursing reached your ears, “Hey, Todoroki? What exactly is your quirk?” You felt him flinch away from you. “..I can produce ice on my right side and fire on my left.” You nodded and sat crossed legged in front of him. You could feel his questioning gaze on you as you closed your eyes and crossed your arms. “Okay, you’ve got fire and ice, we can use that to our advantage. I’ve got super strength in my boots along with speed, and I can use five elements and turn them into tornados. What can we do for that..” You muttered and stretched your legs, opening your eyes to gaze at them. “Tornados?” Todoroki asked, eyes narrowing slightly.

“Yeah, but I can only use one reliably. And that one would be the weakest attack I’ve got, so we’re kinda limited here.” Your gaze traveled to the ceiling as you heard more of the thugs arrive. Sighing, you faced your companion. “Guess we’re just gonna have to wing it. Ready?” He nodded and you shifted into a crouch. Inhaling slowly, you gathered strength into your legs, the pressure cracking the ground below you. Your eyes met his and you nodded at him before jumping with a loud boom. The backlash of the jump shattered the rock shield you created as Todoroki shot out of cover, shooting his hand out to create a giant wall of ice. 

Flipping over the ice wall, you twisted midair to land on your feet. They slammed into an approaching thug’s face, shoving him into the ground below and knocking him out cold as you jumped again to avoid a large fist flying at you. You landed on the arm and shot your leg out, foot slamming into the person’s face as you flipped away. You perched on the ice wall and jumped again, shattering it in the process as you propelled yourself to the farthest villain there. You landed a kick as Todoroki froze some of your other opponents. 

They stumbled back as you landed, pushing off the ground to duck behind your opponent. You landed on your hands and pushed, kicking them with both feet. You sent them flying towards Todoroki. “Incoming!” You yelled as you twisted into a flip. Standing up, you watched Todoroki freeze the guy you kicked as he landed.You glanced around, and upon spotting no more villains, you huffed out a breath. “Well, that’s the last of them, for now.” Stretching, you deactivated your boots. “Let’s continue on, shall we?” Todoroki nodded and you skipped ahead, completely missing Todoroki thaw the unconscious thugs.

* * *

The crowds gasped in joy as the clown bowed on top of the large ball, hula hoops swinging from his right arm and left leg. He stood up, hopping off the ball, and made eye contact with a man on the ground. He had poofy, brown hair and glasses, and in his hands was a glass jar full of liquid. The clown could see awe in the man’s eyes as he watched the performer before him. The crowd around him yelled for more, yet he thrust out the top hat in his grasp to the people in front. They dropped in money as he slowly moved it around. The man sitting on the ground suddenly moved, drawing the clown’s gaze as he searched for something. The man froze as the hat got to him, horror dawning on his face.

“It’s..GONE!? WHY? MY WALLET’S GONE!” The clown winced as the man before him upturned the bag he was holding. He must’ve been pick-pocketed. “OI, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” Another man appeared and picked up the one on the ground. He had long, black hair and an angry scowl painted on his features. “Ka-Kanda! We’re screwed! All the money’s gone!” The clown flinched violently and tried to slowly back away. “What?”

“It probably got stolen when we were sloshed at the bar..If the money’s gone, we can’t take a car anymore! We can’t go find Allen at this rate!” His silver eyes widened and glanced away. The man on the ground suddenly jumped up and ran away. Kanda called after him. “OI?!”

“I’ll do something, we have to earn some money!” Kanda muttered to himself as his companion quickly disappeared. He turned around, briefly meeting the clown’s gaze before the clown abruptly turned and hopped back onto the ball, performing a handstand to the crowd. He could feel the burning gaze of Kanda on his back, yet he didn’t dare turn around, too afraid of what he'd see. He started juggling balls and bowling pins as Kanda’s companion appeared yet again. “Kanda! What are you doing? Come with me!” 

“Wait..I just wanna..slice him up a little bit.” The clown flinched. ‘Shit.’

“This isn’t the time for that!” And suddenly the burning presence behind him disappeared, and he sighed softly in relief. Not a second later, his eyes widened as his left eye changed. **_‘I feel a Noah.’_ ** He glanced downwards, hiding his eye as he looked for the thing causing it to activate. **_‘Faintly..I feel a Noah around here..’_ ** A portal opened up below him and a giant face pushed through, mouth opening to reveal a large tongue and sharp teeth. The crowd screamed and started fleeing. **_‘I feel “The 14th”’_ ** The clown fell into the mouth, bottom half hanging out as the monster continued to push through the swirling portal. His eyes widened as he noticed a small girl trapped inside like he was. 

‘Innocence; activate!’ His left arm morphed as the monster’s head exploded, the cape on his shoulders bursting through the metal. He grabbed the little girl as the mask covered his eyes. He stood up with the girl tucked safely in his arm and the cape fabric protecting her from any debris. His gaze locked with Kanda’s as the mask maneuvered out of his way, showing his face as the sweat and saliva washed away some of his make up. Kanda’s eyes widened in shock as he took in the clown’s appearance. “That mask..You..”

“ALLEN?!”

* * *

You flinched as you felt something twist deep inside your gut and rubbed your hands over your stomach. Something was wrong. “Todoroki?” Your companion hummed as he finished freezing a few more guys. “I think we need to hurry; something feels wrong here.” He glanced back at you and nodded. You stepped closer to him and quickly knocked your enemies out as he thawed them. “Let’s take the fast way! Hop on!” You say as you crouched, ready to pick him up. He hesitatingly grabbed hold of you and you stood up. “You good?” He responded with a vocal affirmative.

You nodded. “Hang on tight!” Todoroki’s limbs tightened their hold on your body and you relinquished your hold on his legs. You crouched into a runner’s starting pose, boots quickly gathering power and you shot off like a rocket, leaving behind large cracks in the rock. You ran, taking huge steps before jumping up into the air. You heard Todoroki hiss in shock as you landed, crouching deeply to gain more power. The earth below you cracked as you gathered power. You jumped, the earth shattering with a loud boom. “Hey, Walker.” You heard the teen on your back call out.

“Hmm?”

“Stop for a second!” You angled your body to land, and once your feet hit the ground, you slid to a stop. The earth cracked underneath your feet and you sighed as the vibrations ended. “What’s up?” He slid off your back and you stood up. “We need to gather information; one of the villains here should know something.” You shrugged and followed him as he walked away. Humming, you glanced around, waiting for a group to jump out. A few minutes of walking down the mountain of earth passed before you heard something. “Todoroki, someone’s here.” You murmured. He nodded.

Suddenly, yells echoed through the area and about eight men jumped up from behind some building parts. They rushed towards you, and in a blink, they were all frozen. You whistled as Todoroki continued on as if nothing ever happened. Following him, you heard some of them mutter in horror. “So the plan was to scatter us and to kill us. You were woefully unprepared. In fact, it looks to me that you had no training; you haven’t the slightest idea how to use your quirks.” Your head twitched at the sound of two people running towards you at two different sides. You ducked and a spear appeared where your head once was as Todoroki sidestepped both it and the person in front of you, freezing them.

You glanced back to see a bird-like person staring shocked at you both. The ice at the base of him fractured and the person fell. Moving quickly, you dodged his body and looked up to see Todoroki staring at the villain in front. “Listen well; if you stay frozen, your cells will slowly die as your body succumbs to frostbite and hypothermia,” You shivered as Todoroki stepped closer to him, “Luckily for you, I want to be a Hero, so I’d like to avoid any unnecessary cruelty,” You watched as he held up his right hand to the villain’s face, ice starting to slowly crystallize in his palm, “But I can only do that if you tell me how you plan on killing All Might. That’s the only way you can survive.” 

As the man held in the ice prison blubbered out as much of the plan he knew whilst crying, your gut twisted violently, leaving you breathless. You doubled over and gasped for breath, gaining the attention of your classmate. “Walker, what’s wrong?!” He said as he planted a hand on your shoulder. You shook your head as tears fell from your eyes. Turning your head to the left, you gazed at the middle of the training center, to where Aizawa was currently fighting. You stood up as the tremors stopped and you gained your breath back. 

“Walker?” You turned back to Todoroki. “Something’s wrong, we need to leave now!” You grabbed his arm and started to tug him, trying to lead him towards Aizawa. “He needs our help!”

“Wait!” He turns back to the villains still trapped. “We need to thaw them.” You scowled but nodded anyway. When the last one was down, you knelt besides Todoroki. “Come on!” He quickly slid onto your back and you started running, feet pushing off a ledge to jump. As you flew through the air, gaze set on the middle of the stadium, a giant wave of air pushed against you, reminding you of the wind in a hurricane. Yelping, you twisted as much as you could, boots cutting through the air and twisting it. “Waltz: Mist Wind!” You swung a leg, and the air before you twisted into a tornado. The tidal wave of air stopped pushing against you and you landed on the ground, skidding to halt. 

Huffing out a sigh of relief, you turned to Todoroki. “Wonder what attack made that.” He squinted at you. “You think it was an attack?” Nodding, you turned back to your destination. “I’m not sure if you could tell, but the air whipped out like the wind in a strong storm. It’s normally caused by a very strong force, like All Might’s quirk, or Midoriya’s even. When either of them use their quirks, it causes some sort of strong breeze, depending on how much force they put behind it. Since Midoriya is still learning how to control his quirk, it’s more likely that he caused that giant wave of air.” You felt him nod as you stood up. You started running again, leaping up on the final step and you flew through the air. You heard the doors to the exit burst open and you glanced over to it. All Might walked through the smoke, his yellow suit jacket hanging by his hand. Grinning, you landed.

You could hear his voice clearly all the way to the landslide site. “Have no fear, students, because I am here.” You couldn’t exactly see his face, but you knew he didn’t have his normal smile. He threw his jacket to the side. “I couldn’t shake the feeling that something had gone wrong here when Aizawa and Thirteen didn’t answer my calls. So I hurried over, running into young Iida on the way. He told me of the villainy at work here.” At this, you continued to hop from rock to rock, quickly reaching the tiled pathway. 

You glanced up as Todoroki slid off your back and quickly spotted Midoriya across the plaza. In front of him was the huge bird dude from earlier, and a pink tongue was wrapped around his stomach. Your (e/c) eyes followed the tongue until they landed on Tsuyu. Next to her in the water was Mineta. You scowled at him as he yelled, “We-We’re saved!”

“After all this waiting,” Your body shuddered as the blue haired villain stood up, “A heroic piece of trash shows up.” You glared at him, hoping he would catch on fire just by your glare alone. “Holy crap!” You turned your attention to the remaining thugs. “It’s All Might!”

“I’ve never seen him in person before!”

“I didn’t expect him to be so huge!”

“This is no time to talk, you idiots!,” One turned around to address the group, “If we strike now, we can kill him!” He immediately landed on the ground, out cold, with his fellow villains meeting the same fate until All Might appeared next to Aizawa. Your breath stopped as your gaze drank in the injuries littering his body, eyes widening more the longer you stared. He barely moved as All Might picked him up gently, and you covered your mouth, cringing at the thought of how much pain he would have been in if he wasn’t already unconscious. He turned to the small group next to the water, and in a blink of an eye, the three students already there disappeared along with the Pro Hero. They landed several meters away from the villain as his hand mask fell off his face. 

All Might set them down and stood up. “Everybody back to the entrance, and take Aizawa with you! He doesn’t have much time!” Tsuyu and Mineta sprang into action. “Y-Yes sir!” You started running towards them. “Here, put him on my back; I’ll be able to get there faster!” The two quickly draped the injured teacher onto your back, careful not to hurt him more. You felt your heart break as you heard him groan softly.

Nodding to your classmates and teacher, you carefully started running. You crouched and jumped, your feet leaving cracks in the tile. You had to jump several more times before you reached the exit. A gasp left your lips as you took in Thirteen’s unmoving body and the students surrounding her. “Guys! What happened?” Uraraka turned to you and gasped in horror at Aizawa’s broken limbs. “What happened to him?!” The rest of the students quickly and carefully took him off of your shoulders as you knelt down.

“I don’t know, I wasn’t there when it happened, but I think that giant bird dude was the one who did most of the damage.” You gestured to the other fallen Hero. “What happened here?”

“Thirteen used her quirk on the warp villain, and then he turned it against her by opening a portal right behind her! None of us got hurt, but I don’t know about Thirteen!” You nodded and quickly picked her up. The Hero hissed in pain. “Sorry,” You whispered, hoping she could hear you before turning back to your classmates. 

“Okay, everyone! We need to get these two out of here! The ambulances will get here eventually, but who knows how long the fight will be? It’ll be safer if we bring them as far away as we can until the ambulances catch up!” Suddenly, a loud sound from behind you caught your attention, and you turned to see All Might punching the large creature. Tsuyu and Mineta were still running towards you, with Midoriya right behind them. 

Scowling at the villains, you turned and followed your classmates to the exit, Uraraka helping you carry Thirteen. Sato pried open the doors, and everyone quickly slipped through, some helping him keep the doors open for those carrying the teachers. You let go of Thirteen, Shoji quickly taking your place, and slipped back through the doors before they closed. 

You ran towards the top of the stairs and jumped, a loud boom echoing through the training facility and a crater formed behind you. Thanks to the power behind your jump, you managed to get to the plaza in about a minute. Before you stood Bakugou, Kirishima, and Todoroki. Midoriya was sitting on the ground nearby, looking absolutely dumbstruck. Ice was forming from Todoroki’s right foot all the way to- ‘Holy _shit_ ! What the _fuck_?!’

All Might was trapped in the grasp of the creature, but half of it was underneath him and the other half was a meter away. Its entire left side was encased with ice. All Might pried the hands holding him away, and thinking quickly, you landed and jumped again, flipping in the air. You shot down like a bullet, landing two strong kicks on its stomach, one after the other. The creature shrieked and recoiled, allowing All Might to escape. You jumped away with a satisfied grin.

Kirishima let out scream as he aimed for the masked villain, yet he simply stepped away to avoid the punch being thrown at him. “Damn, that was gonna be cool!”  
  
“Guess I found your body that time, you smokey bastard!” Bakugou yelled with a manic grin, sitting atop of the warp quirk villain. “The Symbol of Peace will not be defeated by delinquents like you.” Todoroki glared coldly at the remaining villain. The hand turned to the misty figure on the ground. “Kurogiri? How could you let this brat get the best of you.” You snorted at that, and Bakugou glared at you, still grinning like the Cheshire Cat. 

“You’ve gotten us into a real jam here.” Bakugou barked out a short laugh before leaning in close to Kurogiri. “You got careless, you dumb villain! It wasn’t hard to figure you out. Only certain parts of you turn into that warp gate; you use that mist to hide your actual body as a kind of distraction, thinking that made you safe. But if you didn’t have a body, you wouldn’t be wearing this neck armor, right? You’re not immune to physical attacks if they’re well aimed.” Kurogiri shifted to try and escape, yet mini explosions were set off in Bakugou’s hand as a warning, leaving the villain grunting at the shock. “Don’t move! You try anything funny, and I’ll blow you up so bad they’ll be piecing you back together for _weeks_.”

“ _Oh_ , that didn’t sound very heroic!” Kirishima chimed in with a giant grin and you giggled. “ _Bakugou_ doesn’t sound very heroic, _ever_!” You heard the last villain mutter to himself and you turned your attention back to him.

“They escaped uninjured and captured my two strongest men, kids these days really are amazing.” You narrowed your eyes, your gut twisting slightly and you tensed, ready for him to attack. “They make the League of Villains look like amateurs. Can’t have that.” At this, he turned to the bird man. “Nomu.” 

With a shrieky groan, the upper part of its body sank through the portal and tried to stand up. It’s arm and leg broke off, and you winced as it tried to stand, only falling down to a crouch. “How is that thing still moving?” You heard Midoriya say somewhere behind you, “He’s all messed up!”

“Don’t call it a ‘he’,” You reply, voice cold as your boots flashed, “That thing is no longer sentient; it’s practically a lifeless doll at this point. Whatever they did to it caused it to lose it’s humanity and mind.” All Might thrust out an arm in front of you, preventing you from attacking it. “Stay back everybody!” You shuffled backwards as the ice broke around the injured limbs. They quickly healed, and new limbs shot out of the stumps. “What is this? I thought you said his power was shock absorption!”

“I didn’t say that’s his only quirk! He also has super regeneration!” The villain replied smugly. You scowled at them both. “Nomu has been modified to take you on even at 100% of your power. He’s basically a highly efficient punching bag that hits back.” Everyone around you tensed. “First, we need to free our men. Get him Nomu.” In a blink, he was gone, air rushing around you. Your eyes widened as a loud boom rocked the ground below you, and you turned to see Nomu right where Bakugou once was and something landing in the wall about twenty meters away. The force from that punch forced the air to whip around, pushing you and your classmates the same distance away.

You grunted as you landed in a crouch, quickly glancing around to check your companions. Everyone looked fine, but what was Bakugou doing here? Wasn’t he-oh. Oh no. You turned back. “ALL MIGHT!” You gathered power into your legs, the earth below you cracking and rising up as you prepared yourself to jump. You rocketed towards Nomu, leaving behind a giant crater and you landed feet first onto it. You crouched into your kick, and with a loud boom, kicked him into a wall about a hundred feet away. You flipped and landed, glaring at the creature. 

“FUCK YOU, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!” You screeched at it, and your ears picked up a distant boom far off. You back flipped away, narrowly dodging the Nomu’s punch. You continued to do so until you were a small distance away from it. The Nomu grunted as a small crater in it’s chest slowly filled up until it looked like nothing happened to it. The smoke cleared from the wall where All Might was flung towards, and the Pro Hero appeared. He was still standing, his arms crossing in front of him from blocking the attack. 

He looked up. “These are kids, and you didn’t hold back?!”

“I didn’t have much choice,” You laughed at that, glaring at him as he walked up to Nomu. He ignored you, “He was threatening my companion. Besides, these kids are no angels. The plain looking one, he tried to kill me with a maxed out punch. What-” 

“Well, DUH DIPSHIT! WHAT ELSE WAS HE TO DO?!” You snarled at him. He glanced at you. “You’re being a goddamn HYPOCRITE, ASSWIPE! We all had to do some things that aren’t fucking nice today, because SOMEONE decided it was a good idea to attack INNOCENT KIDS, jackass!” Silence followed your outburst as the villain stared at you.

“You’re nothing but a lunatic,” All Might added on, panting heavily, “Criminals like you, you always try to make your actions sound noble, but admit it; you’re only doing this because you like it! Isn’t that right?!” You pushed off towards your classmates, getting more distance from the thing in front of you. Todoroki rubbed your shoulder once you landed next to him. “And young Walker, watch your language!”

“We’ve got them outnumbered.” Midoriya nodded at that. “And Kaachan found the mist guy’s weakness.” 

“These dudes may act really tough, but we can take them down now with All Might’s help!” Kirishima replied, instantly hardening his arms. “Let’s do this!”

“Don’t attack!” Your companions paused as All Might blocked Nomu from getting to you all. “Get out of here!”

“You would have been in trouble earlier if it weren't for Walker and I, remember? You need our help.” Todoroki replied. “I thank you for your assistance, but this is different! It’s going to be alright! Just sit back and watch a Pro at work!” Midoriya stepped forward at this, shocked. “But you’re too hurt; you’re bleeding, and you’re almost out of tim-” He cut himself off, and All Might gave you all a thumbs up before turning back to the villains.

“Nomu, Kurogiri, kill him. I’ll deal with the children.” You snarled at him, your boots flashing in warning as green electricity sparked off of them. “Let’s clear this level and go home.” And suddenly, he was running towards you, hand outstretched. Your lips pulled at the corners, slowly sliding into a creepy smirk. “Head’s up, we’re fighting after all!” Kirishima called out.

All Might pushed off the ground, heading towards the masked villain, and Nomu shot forward, shrieking loudly as it moved to block the Pro. It swung a fist at him, and he met it with a punch of his own. The force of both attacks caused strong winds to flare up and knock everyone aside. You had seen it coming and quickly dug your heels into the ground, crouching. You slid back only a couple feet from your original place while everyone else was flung back much farther.

“Weren’t you listening?” The blue haired villain yelled over the wind. “One of his quirks is shock absorption!”

“Yeah? What about it?” All Might yelled back as he swung back for another punch. You let out loud laughs as he continued to pound his fists into Nomu’s, forcing the air around them to fling everyone back. “He said your quirk was shock absorption, not nullification,” Your eyes widened at that, and you laughed harder, “THAT MEANS THERE’S A LIMIT TO WHAT YOU CAN TAKE, RIGHT?”

“Damn, All Might is BADASS!” You yell loudly. All Might started pushing the creature back as he continued to punch. “So you were made to fight me, big guy. If you can really withstand me firing at 100% of my power, then I’ll have to go beyond that and FORCE YOU TO SURRENDER!” With one last punch, All Might sent Nomu flying, tearing up the ground and wind breaking the trees. He jumped, getting closer to his opponent as it jumped towards him. “A real Hero will always find a way for justice to be served!”

- _A kind smile and silver eyes stared back at you, even when there were tears in the stormy orbs. “I want to be a Destroyer who saves.”_ -

You blinked away the memory as All Might grabbed the Nomu as it was flying towards him and twisted in midair. With a yell, he threw it into the ground, cracking the tiles as the force exploded the cement. You turned and ran, allowing the wind to pick you up and drop you near Todoroki. You turned back around as All Might landed, and he stood up. “Now for a lesson. You may have heard these words before, but I’ll teach you what they really mean!” He clenched his fist and wound up for a punch. “Go beyond: PLUS ULTRA!” With that, he punched the Nomu in the stomach with all his power, sending the creature flying. It crashed through the ceiling as you let out a giant laugh, throwing your fists up in victory. The whole stadium shook violently.

“That was like a finishing move in a video game!” Kirishima yelled excitedly. “He beat the shock absorption right out of him! I’ve never seen that kind of brute strength!”

“Imagine to have a power like that..” Bakugou muttered lowly. “He must’ve been punching that monster so fast he couldn’t regenerate.” Kirishima turned to you. “Yo, Walker! Weren’t you able to kick that guy into a wall with one go? It took All Might about fifty punches in order to push him back only a little!” You laughed at that, smiling warmly up at him. “It was a combination of speed and strength that allowed me to do that. All Might only used brute force.” 

‘Speaking of All Might..’ You turned back to him. He coughed slightly and muttered as he slowly stood up. “I really have gotten weaker; back in my hayday it would’ve taken five punches to take that guy out.” He put one of his fists against his chest, directly above his heart. “But today it took more than 300 mighty blows.” You laughed at that. “He was counting? How?”

Your eyes picked up faint smoke coming from his body, and you squinted. ‘What is that..?’

“You’ve been bested, villains. Surrender; we all want to get this over with quickly.” The villain with the hand mask started shaking in anger, eyes trailing downwards and hand coming up to scratch his neck.

“What’s wrong?” All Might called out. “Not attacking me? Didn’t you say you were going to clear this level earlier? Well, come and get me, if you dare!” The villain gasped and took a step back. “Man, this is..intense.” Bakugou muttered, eyes glued to the three people before him. “As I expected, there’s no reason for us to fight now, he’ll handle it.” Your duel haired friend said. The boys started to leave, leaving behind you and Midoriya. “Come on, you two!” Kirishima called. “We should regroup with the other guys, the last thing we want to do is be taken hostage or get in his way.” You glanced at Midoriya and then back to your other classmates. “We’ll catch up!” You say and Kirishima sighed at that, giving you a look. Besides him, Todoroki waited patiently for you. “Walker, come on. We need to go!”

Your gut twisted once more and your chest felt tight. Smiling softly at him, you shook your head and turned around. 

“What? Are you scared?” The villain growled and scratched violently at his neck. “If only Nomu was here, he’d rush you right now! Pound you into the ground without giving it a second thought!” 

“And yet, he was the one who was pounded into the ground by All Might!” You call out tauntingly, making him scratch more at his neck. He glared at you and you shrugged. “What? It’s the truth! You’re spouting childish excuses right now! Someone had to force you to face reality!” He snarled at you and you answered him with a laugh. Kurogiri leaned closer to him. “Tomura Shigaraki, please calm down! Look at him! He’s definitely weakened.” You scowled at that, and your boots flashed as you shifted to a fighting stance, ready to jump in. “Nomu’s attacks were successful!” At that, Shigaraki stopped scratching his neck in agitation. “He’s on his own. The children appear to be frozen in fear-”

“Fuck you!” You call out, hands on your hips.

“-And look! Our underlings are recovering! We likely have a few minutes until their reinforcements arrive; if you and I work together, we can do this! We haven’t missed our chance to kill All Might!” He paused, and Shigaraki lowered his hands. 

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. This is it. We have no choice; we have to do it now.” You _really didn’t like the sound of that_. “I mean, the big end boss is right here!” You gasped as you heard the thugs around you get up, and you turned along with your classmates. “I think All Might can handle those two main guys. Let’s make sure these dudes don’t hurt anyone else!” Kirishima called out, hardening his arms yet again. Todoroki glanced at you and Midoriya. “Will you be joining us?” Midoriya continued to stare in horror at the Pro Hero before you and you reluctantly nodded. “Sure..”

‘Why is he staring like that? It definitely has something to do with All Might running out of power and that skeletal man in the teacher’s lounge..’ You thought and turned back to All Might. ‘Is this man really that guy?’ You hummed. 

Shigaraki suddenly started running towards All Might, hand outstretched like earlier. “Consider this revenge for what you did to Nomu!” Kurogiri’s misty head flared up, and a portal opened. As they were getting closer to him, you felt a sudden force of air push you, catching you off guard and managing to force you back a couple steps. Your head whipped around, and Midoriya was nowhere in sight. “Shit!” You yelled and looked back at the fight.

And yup, there the idiot was! Flying towards the two villains with broken legs! “Woah, Midoriya!” You watched as he aimed a punch at the metal neck brace around Kurogiri’s neck. “Don’t you touch All Might, you stupid villain!” He yelled. Suddenly, a hand appeared before his face, and it took you a second to realize _Shigaraki shoved his arm into the portal mist_ . Your eyes widened and tears slowly appeared in them. “I won’t fall for that again!” Kurogiri yelled, yellow eyes staring at the Hero in training. “ **_MIDORIYA_ **!” You screamed, voice cracking at the volume and barely sounding human to your ears as tears fell from your eyes.

- _A man covered in bandages sat in a chair, the remaining eye staring straight up at the ceiling with clear insanity. “Lord Millennium is in search of you~.”_ -

- _You watched with tears in your eyes as the recording showed Allen screaming in pain. Tykki continued to use his Dark Matter to rip his Innocence arm off. You looked down at the leaf covered ground and spotted a small blood stain._ -

- _Johnny held up Tapp’s body as tears streamed down his face, clouding up his glasses. You slid to a halt on the marble floor, sitting down as you did so. “Tapp, don’t die! You can’t die like this! Don’t die on me!” Tapp opened his jaw as one of Johnny’s tears landed on his eye socket, sliding down his cheek bone as if he produced it himself. “If I could live, I wouldn’t care if I had overtime..forever…” His body turned to dust._ -

A couple of gunshots snapped you out of it, and you watched Shigaraki’s hand move away from Midoriya’s face. You turned, and upon seeing the teachers gathered up on the staircase, you smiled in relief, laughing a little. The tears continued to flow.

“Sorry everyone!” Nezu called out, his voice carrying everywhere, “I know we’re a bit late, but I got the teachers over here as fast as I could!” 

Iida appeared behind Cementoss. “Your Class Rep has returned! I fulfilled my duty, and I brought reinforcements!” You quickly wiped away your tears before anyone could notice and cheered as loud as you could, throwing your fists in the air yet again. One of the villains growled and pointed his arms at them. Out of his fingertips came bullets, and he tried shooting the teachers down. You watched as Present Mic stepped forward. 

“ ** _YEAAAAAAH!_** ”

All the villains climbing towards them were blown away, and most of them still in the plaza covered their ears, writhing in agony. The ones who didn’t pass out were then knocked out by clones of one of the teachers. 

“Our priority is to protect all of our students!”

“YES SIR!” You turned back to All Might and Midoriya as huge explosions rocked the ground. You watched as Shigaraki backed up, heading for Kurogiri. Suddenly, more bullet wounds appeared in different areas of his body, quickly sending him to the ground. Kurogiri shielded him from the rest of the bullets and quickly disappeared.

You stretched as the Pro Heros took control, rounding up all the thugs left behind. Hearing Midoruya’s grunts of pain, you glanced over in worry. You started jogging over to him with Kirishima hot on your heels. “Midoriya, hey!” The boy looked over at you two, and he propped himself up by his arms. “Sorry, I can’t get up!”

“What? Are you okay?” Suddenly, a wall appeared right in front of you and you stopped. “For your safety, please stay back.” Cementoss said calmly. “Join your classmates outside. Leave the injured to us, we can take care of them.” Kirishima smiled. “Oh, gotcha! I’m on it!” And with that, he ran off, leaving you behind with Cementoss. You turned back to him. “I’m going over anyway.” He sighed softly. “I realized that, and I don’t plan on stopping you.” You nodded and jumped up onto the wall. Running up the rock, you flipped over the edge and sat down. You watched as Cementoss walked up to a skeletal man. ‘Aha, I knew it! He really was All Might!’

All Might sighed in relief. “Thanks for that. You saved my butt, Cementoss.”

“My pleasure, I’m actually a big fan of yours.” He hesitated before glancing up at you. “Though, there is one student I wasn’t able to deter.” Both Midoriya and All Might followed his gaze, and the former freaked out at the sight of you. You hopped down and turned to All Might with a small grin. “I KNEW it! I knew you looked familiar!” You giggled slightly. “Who knew you had two forms?” All Might sighed tiredly. “I was hoping you would never connect the dots..”

“If you wanted that, then you probably shouldn’t have let me see you in the teacher’s lounge. After seeing both sides of you, I was bound to figure it out!” Cementoss placed a hand on you, stopping the conversation from going any deeper. “We should sneak you out of here and get you both to the nurse’s office. Seriously, All Might, that could’ve been bad.” You nodded in agreement as you walked over to Midoriya, gaze boring into your blond teacher. “I had to act recklessly or else I would be dead now. Just goes to show how strong those villains were.” You knelt besides the boy next to you. “Hey, can you move at all?”

He flinched and met your gaze, nodding. You hummed. “I’m going to pick you up, okay?” Again, you got a nod from him. You slid your hands under him and gently picked him up. You carefully shifted him to the bridal hold yet stopped when he let out a hiss. “You good?” He hummed out an affirmative and you continued on. Once he was situated, you stood up and turned to Cementoss and All Might. “Alright, lead the way, sir!”

* * *

Your (e/c) eyes stared at the tiles near your feet, boring holes into it. You could hear Present Mic pace nearby, yet you didn’t look up. You REALLY don’t want to see his worried look and the white walls of the hospital, and the nurses and doctors in scrubs briskly walk by, and the ma _chinery that dug deeper into your skin_ -

You squeezed your knee, inhaling slowly and calmly to distract from the memories trying to resurface. Your eyes traveled to the leg next to your left one. It was clad in a yellow pant leg with black stripes, and was currently bouncing up and down. You sighed and pulled out a clump of string. Untangling it, you wound it around your fingers, leg bouncing as you played around with it. A few minutes passed, and you suddenly heard footsteps approaching from the ER doorway. The doors opened, and Present Mic stopped pacing and turned around. All Might stood up.

“Well?” The English teacher stepped closer to the doctor, “Is he alright? Is he gonna live?” The doctor sighed tiredly. “He’s stable, for now. He’s currently resting, but I believe he’ll make a full recovery soon; we did have Recovery Girl helping us. You can visit him, if you want.” With that, all tension bled from Present Mic’s and All Might’s bodies, and your fingers slowed. “I’ll bring you to him.” The three adults started to walk away, yet their footsteps paused. “Young Walker? Are you coming with us?” A hand landed on your shoulder, and you flinched slightly. Both All Might and Present Mic got closer. The latter crouched, a hand placing itself on your knee to draw your attention. “Hey, come on, what’s wrong?” Your eyes slowly met his, and you shrugged, not wanting to reply in a busy place like your current surroundings. You felt your hands shaking as your thoughts turned back to the hospital. “You know,” The teacher before you said lowly, “You don’t have to actually look at him, if that’s the problem. Do you think you can handle being in the same room as him?” You glanced away and slowly nodded. “Alright, lets go!” He exclaimed as he stood up. You followed him, stuffing your sting back into your pocket. 

An arm wrapped around your shoulders as you continued to look down, gently guiding you as the three of you followed the doctor. “Here we are. If anything happens to him, hollar; a nurse or doctor will come by to help.” Afterwards, he left and you entered the room. The first thing that you heard was the beeping of the heart monitor. The sound of someone breathing shallowly came next, and you risked a quick glance towards your guardian before sharply flicking your eyes back down. From your quick look, you noticed that he was entirely covered in bandages, but you couldn’t tell if he was awake or not. 

Present Mic sat you down in a chair in the corner before going closer to Aizawa. “Yo, Eraser! Sorry it took so long for us to get here, we had a bit of trouble with something.” You heard a groan come from Aizawa, and he spoke with a raspy voice. However, he was too quiet for your hearing to pick up. “Ah, don’t worry! She’s right here; Aleah, come on! He wants to talk to you.” You purse your lips, and with a sigh, stood up and slowly walked over. Your eyes locked onto the metal railing on his bed and mumbled out a greeting.

“....You’re not injured?” At that, you shook your head. He turned to the other teachers. “Everyone else?”

“No one is hurt beside a few scratches here and there.” All Might replied, standing on the other side of the bed. Aizawa grunted at that, and you glanced up to see his face. The only thing showing were his eyes, and yet you could perfectly see how exhausted he was. “Should we,” All eyes landed on you and you swallowed, “Should we go? For the night?”

“I don’t care.” 

You hummed and glanced away, refusing to lock eyes on any of the machinery. Present Mic clapped his hands together. “Let’s have dinner here! I’ll order something from a place nearby!” He pulled out his phone. “Anyone into the sound of burgers tonight?” You shrugged. 

“I’m going to have to leave soon, so I won’t be able to join you,” All Might replied and sat down in the chair next to Aizawa’s bed. Present Mic waved it off as he left the room. You blinked, and with a snap of your fingers, you took out Pandora from your backpack. Tapping a finger on the screen, you watched as it fluttered to life, leaving your hand and flapping in front of you. You quickly picked a calm piano soundtrack you downloaded a few years ago, and soft piano notes flowed through the air. You sighed and went back to your chair, ignoring All Might as he talked to Aizawa. A second later, Present mic popped back into the room and leaned against a wall, quickly joining in on the conversation between the teachers.

Again, you pulled out your clump of string and quietly played _Cats n’ Cradle_ with it. Your attention wandered, hearing slowly but steadily becoming muffled as you were sucked into your thoughts. You were snapped out of your thoughts when a hand gently landed on your shoulder, and the smell of fast food quickly invaded your nose. You glanced up to see Present Mic leaning over you with a grin and holding a bag in his other hand. Your gaze traveled around the room, quickly flitting away from any machine it landed on. All Might was nowhere in sight, so you assumed he had already left.

You stood up and dragged your chair behind you, sitting next to Aizawa’s bed. Your other guardian handed you a wrapped burger and a container of fries before sitting down himself as you looked over Aizawa. He was somehow still awake. Unwrapping the burger, you took a small bite before blinking. You chewed and swallowed before turning to Present Mic. “We need drinks; I’ll go get them. What do you want?” You say and stand up, placing your fries and burger on your chair.

“I will take water! Do you have money?” You nodded and walked out, searching for a vending machine.

You found one a few hallways down and inserted money for a water bottle and a bottle of green tea. Right as the water bottle fell, Pandora beeped. You squinted at it as you crouched to retrieve the bottle with your drink already in hand. It continued quietly beeping before a screen appeared before your eyes.

**_Allen Walker calling...answer? Yes-No_ **

Your eyes widened and you booked it to Aizawa’s room, being careful of the people bustling around you. As you skidded to a halt inside the hospital room, you hit the first option. Static echoed out of Pandora as you sat down, ignoring the looks coming from your guardians.

**_“Aleah? Are you there?”_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooo, i just used up all of the chapters i had stocked up. for now, i'm gonna go into a little hiatus, i'm sorry. i really hope you all loved this chapter, if you did, please leave a kudos and/or comment! most authors live off of comments, and i am one of those. also, please stay safe out there! the world's pretty scary right now, and during times like these, the crazies in it thrive. have a good day/night! you're all AWESOME! XP


	6. Chapter 5

_“Up next, an update on an incident yesterday at the U.A. Rescue Training Center where Hero course students were attacked by a gang of villains. According to police officials, the criminal force called themselves the League of Villains. Investigators have reportedly uncovered that this group has been plotting to kill U.A. teacher and popular Hero All Might since the spring of this year. Police arrested seventy-two villains at the scene, but the League’s leader escaped. His whereabouts are unknown.”_

You pushed the remote button, and the T.V. turned off with a click. You huffed as you leaned back into your chair, crossing your arms while Present Mic helped Aizawa sit up. You were already dressed in your school uniform, waiting for the two teachers to be ready. Recovery Girl had already been by to heal your guardian as much as possible before she hit her limit, and it’s been a couple hours since then. The doctor had finally given Aizawa the go ahead to go back home that day, but he was still covered in bandages. You peered at the two splints keeping his forearms straight, hanging by slings to help keep them from bumping into anything. 

Pandora flapped above your head, the noise of its wings reminding you of the recent conversation you had with your brother last night.

\- **“Aleah? Are you there?”**

_Your lips stretched into a happy smile as you answered him in English, “Allen! I’m here!” A sigh of relief answered you, and you were suddenly reminded why you weren’t able to speak to or see him constantly. Your happy smile quickly melted into a frown and you scowled at Pandora. You opened your mouth only to be cut off by Allen._

**“Are you safe? Hurt? Where are y-”**

_“Allen,” He stopped instantly, no doubt hearing the ice in his name, “I’m going to ask you this once, and I expect an honest answer._ **_What_ ** _were you_ **_thinking_ ** _?” He didn’t answer for several long minutes._

**“Um..calling you?”**

_..He played the stupid card. Something deep inside of you snapped, and tears slowly appeared in your eyes. Oh, he was going to get it now. “You left me in the middle of the night IN RUSSIA with nothing but the clothes on my back and some money you stole the night before! AFTER agreeing with me to stick together!” You yelled at him as quietly as you can to avoid drawing the attention of nurses. Present Mic leaned away from you with a shocked expression, “You purposely went against BOTH your promises to me and waited until I couldn’t stop you! Are you INSANE? What if you needed backup or you were captured and I couldn’t help you? And NOW you’re trying to learn my location after leaving me to fend for myself in the middle of nowhere? I don’t think so! This is exactly what you were afraid of happening, all thanks to you being an utter IDIOT!” You huffed and crossed your arms angrily, and a few minutes later, a voice answered you. It wasn’t Allen._

**“O-Okay, I wasn’t expecting that…”** _The male voice said in the background._ **“Did you actually leave her like that?”** _Was that….Johnny?_ **“Fucking Moyashi. Quit being an idiot.”** _Kanda?? What were they doing there?_

 _“Allen, what’s going on?” You asked after a minute of silence._ **“..I may or may not have ran into Kanda and Johnny?”** _You groaned and rubbed your temples._ **“Don’t worry though, they left the Order! Though, I’m still not sure how they found me in the first place..”**

 **“We did it with the stack of debts General Cross had during the time you spent as his apprentice!”** _Johnny cut in, and you could almost see the huge, accomplished smile on his face. You grimaced as you eyed both your guardians. They were staring at you. “If you used that method, the Order would probably do so as well once they catch on. Unless,” You say, glancing back at the black golem near your head, “Did you guys find him through pure luck?”_

 **“Probably,”** _Johnny replied,_ **“We did find him as a street performer.”** _You gasped excitedly at that. “Allen! Did you turn into a clown again? Please tell me you had that recorded.” You blinked before scowling. You were supposed to be mad, damnit! Stop it! A nervous chuckle answered you. Sighing once more, you leaned back into your chair, picking up your food. “Well, they probably can’t find you through that way. However, I’m pretty sure they’ll hunt you down somehow. Best be careful. Are you guys safe right now?”_

 **“Yeah, don’t worry about us!”** _Allen replied,_ **“We’re currently in a hotel right now. They, uh, kinda dragged me here..What about you?”**

 _“Safe and warm. Been that way for about a month now. Also, I have good news! And bad news, I guess.” You smiled at Present Mic as he listened in on the conversation. He grinned at you, head propped up on his fist. “I officially have two guardians and am currently going to school!_ _One of them is injured, however, and we’re at the hospital right now.” Two small gasps went through the speakers, and you could almost see the looks of shock on their faces._ **“Are you sure you can handle it?”**

 _“Don’t ask me that.” Johnny went quiet, and a few seconds later Allen spoke._ **“I’m glad you’re in school. Are you alone?”**

_Present Mic grin stretched and you shook your head. “Don’t you-”_

_“Hello~!” He sang out and you opted to stay quiet and eat._ **“...I’ll take that as a no, then. Should we call you back?”** _You nodded before remembering that he couldn’t see you. “Yeah, I think that’s best; call me back in about three hours if you can. If not, call me next week today, alright? I’m still mad at you!”_

 **“Yeah, I know, I know.”** -

“Aleah! Come on!” You jerked. Looking up, you saw Present Mic staring at you with Aizawa standing next to him. “It’s time for us to leave!” You smiled and stood up. “Coming.” Picking up your backpack, you followed the two out, closing the door behind you.

* * *

It had taken a while for the bus to drive you to the school, and even though no one on it knew who Aizawa was, there were still a lot of fans trying to talk to you three. The fact that Present Mic was an active day-time Hero wasn’t helping in the slightest. Sighing, you glanced out the window with a semi-bored expression. The trees and buildings went by, blurring into one another. The reflections of the civilians crowding around you three faintly stared back at you. 

As soon as the bus stopped, Present Mic stood up and gently pushed through the small crowd. You and Aizawa followed. As soon as you stepped off the giant hunk of metal, the bus left. You were only about a block away from the school when your phone vibrated in your hand. You glanced down at it, turning it on in the process, and noticed that you had several texts from the class chat Uraraka was still in the process of constructing.

_“Hey, where are you, Aleah?” -Bubbles_

_“You might wanna hurry if you’re late. The sub hasn’t come yet.” -Bubbles_

_“Yo Walker? You there?” -Hard Mode_

_“GIRL, WHERE ARE YOU???” -PinkJellyBean_

You smiled at the texts as you walked into the building, typing out a quick reply before turning the device off. “So, what are we doing today, Aizawa?”

“You’ll see.” You huffed playfully. “Quit being all cryptic.” At this point, Present Mic left your small party for the teacher’s lounge, giving you a grin as he went. You stuck your tongue at him. 

Eventually, you reached the giant door to the classroom. You ran ahead and opened it, letting Aizawa go in first. “Morning class.” You heard the entire class shout in surprise, and then you walked through. “Aleah, _there_ you are!” Uraraka heaved a giant sigh of relief as you waved at her. “Yo!” You say brightly and your eyes met Todoroki’s slightly wider than usual ones. You skipped over as the other students continued to yell concerned shouts at Aizawa. Once you sat down, you turned to the front with a large smile. Iida shot a hand up.

“Mr. Aizawa, I’m glad you’re okay!” Uraraka squinted, muttering softly to herself. “You call that okay?”

“My well-being is irrelevant. What’s more important is that your fight isn’t over yet.” The students around you murmured. You’re pretty sure that that was Mineta screeching softly, “Not more bad guys!” You snorted at that as Aizawa’s gaze roamed over the class. “The U.A. Sports Festival is about to start.” At this, Kirishima pumped a fist into the air. “Yes!”

“AW! WHY WOULD YOU SCARE US LIKE THAT?!” You burst out in laughter at this. “How are you guys so good at yelling in unison?” You got a few shrugs at that, and it only made you laugh harder. Several of your classmates yelled loudly in excitement. “LETS GO KICK SOME ASS!” Kirishima stood up with a giant grin. “Wait a second!” Kaminari shoved a hand into the teen’s face and shoved him down. “Is it really such a good idea to hold the Sports Festival so soon after the villains snuck inside?” Jiro asked, gazing at your teacher. Your giggles slowly died down, and you glanced up at him with curiosity. “They could attack once we’re all in the same place!”

“Apparently the administration thinks this is a good way to show that the threat has been handled and our school is safer than ever. Plus, they’re beefing up security compared to past years. This event is a huge opportunity for all students of U.A. It’s not something we can cancel for a few villains.” Mineta cut in nervously. “Uh, I’m sorry, but why not? It’s just the Sports Festival.” Midoriya turned around at this. “Huh? Mineta? Don’t you know how important this competition is?”

“Of course I do! I just don’t want to get murdered!” You scowled at him. ‘Then why is he here?’

“Our Sports Festival is one of the most watched events in the entire world.” Shit. “In the past, everyone was obsessed with the Olympic games, but then quirks started appearing. Now, the Olympics have been drastically reduced in terms of scale and viewership. For anyone who cared about competition, there was only one tournament that matters; the U.A. Sports Festival.” Momo clenched a fist in determination. “That’s right! And Top Heros everywhere will be watching!” Double shit. “This is where you get scouted!” Your natural, easy going smile slowly shifted into a nervous one. This wasn't good. How were you going to get out of this one?

“Sure, unless you’re dead!” Kaminari turned around. “She’s right! After graduating, a lot of people join Pro agencies as a Sidekick!” His hand morphed into a thumbs up. “Yeah, but that’s as far as some people go,” Jiro replied, “They missed their chance to go indie and stay eternal Sidekicks. Actually,” She turned to the electric quirk user, “That’s probably where you’re headed. You’re kinda dumb.” You winced, “Ouch.” Aizawa cleared his throat, and the class focused on him once more. “It’s true that joining a famous Hero agency can garner you greater experience popularity. That’s why the festival matters; if you want to go Pro one day, then this event will open the path for you. One chance a year, three chances for a lifetime, no aspiring Hero can miss this festival. That means, you better not slack off on your training.” 

“YES SIR!”

“Class is dismissed.”

* * *

The bell rang, and Cementoss walked out of the room with his books clutched to his chest. Kirishima instantly stood up and flung both fists into the air. “That villain stuff sucks, sure, but I’m PUMPED FOR THESE GAMES!” Sero walked closer to Kirshima and elbowed him gently in the arm as you giggled. “We put on a good show, and we’re basically on the way to being Pros!” Sato grinned. “Yeah, this is why I’m even here in the first place!” He punched one hand into the other in his excitement. Tokoyami, who was perched^ on a desk, closed his eyes. “We get so few chances, we must make the most of this.” 

“Oh man, Ojiro!” Hagakuri clapped her invisible hands, standing close to the tailed teen. “I’m getting kinda nervous about the festival! I have to come up with a way to be noticed!” She continued on as Ojiro answered her. “Uh, sure, maybe you should be looking at a shinier costume or something? Otherwise, you’re going to have to try _really_ hard..” Aoyama stood up suddenly, catching your attention. “My, what’s a boy supposed to do? I stand out even when I’m standing still! That means the scouts won’t be able to take their eyes off me!” He pointed at one of your classmates, one who you never learned the name of, and leaned closer to him. “Wouldn’t you agree?” The boy nodded frantically. You let out another laugh as you packed up, turning to Todoroki. “Are you excited?” He shrugged. 

“Well, I kinda am, but at the same time, scared as all hell. I’ve performed in front of a large audience before, but not one quite as large as the whole world.” Inside, you were panicking badly. Central was most definitely going to notice, weren’t they? Well, at least the Asian Branch will. **“Deku!”** You jumped, along with Midoriya and Iida, and turned to glance questioningly at Uraraka. **“Iida!”** They turned around. **“Lets do our best in the Sports Festival!”**

“U-Uraraka? What happened to your face?” Midoriya asked nervously, and Mina popped up behind him. “Seriously, what’s up? You’re normally like the most laid back girl ever!” You shook your head as you took in her scary expression. “I’m not going to question that.” Mineta started saying something with a blush, yet was cut off by Tsuyu smacking him harshly on the cheek with her tongue. Suddenly, Uraraka slid her foot out to keep her balanced and threw her fist in the air, turning to her friends. “EVERYONE! I’M GOING TO DO MY BEST!” At this, Iida yelled loudly and enthusiastically threw his arm into the air, closely followed by Midoriya’s own answer. The two girls behind him joined in. 

“Yeah!” 

She then turned to you, and you realized with a start that your other classmates were crowding around you, staring at the girl in front of you in confusion and a little amusement here and there. “I said I’M GOING TO DO MY BEST!” This time, she earned less enthusiastic answers. “Got it..” 

“You okay..? You kinda look like you’re losing it.”

You grinned and your fist shot into the air. “YEAH!” At this, you heard a quiet huff near you, and you assumed it was one of amusement, but you didn’t know where it came from. You glanced behind you, and Todoroki’s smiling face greeted you. Granted, it was a very small smile, yet it shocked you. A smile of your own tugged at your lips as you realized that he laughed just a second earlier. 

“Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle, you actually laughed!” You say quietly as Uraraka continued to shout in the background. He rolled his eyes slightly and stood up, grabbing his backpack with him. You took that as your cue and stood up with him, slinging your own backpack over your shoulders. “So, to the cafeteria?” You smiled up at him, and he nodded. “Lets go.” You left the classroom with a bounce in your step, following Todoroki to the large cafeteria.

“Is Aizawa your guardian?” He asked right before you entered the room, and you paused. “Say what now?”

“Aizawa. Is he your guardian?” Todoroki repeated, at this point already a bit used to your habit of spacing out. You smiled and nodded. “One of them, at least. You haven’t actually seen me interact with the other one yet, but I bet you’re going to guess correctly next time as well.” He nodded at that, and you split up, you heading over to the table you sat at last time while he went to retrieve his food. You quickly placed your feet on the chair in front of you and dug out your lunch. As soon as he arrived, you slipped your feet out of his chair and moved to get up.

Right when you were about to grab your Tupperware container to look for a microwave, Todoroki placed his left hand on top of it, quickly heating the food inside. You paused and sat back down, popping the container open. “You know, you really don’t have to do that. I could just go find a microwave or something.” At this, he shook his head. “I can do it.”

“You sure? If you don’t want to, you don’t have to.” He shook his head again. “I want to.” You reluctantly nodded and slid a fork out of your backpack, digging in quickly. “Unless, of course, _you_ don’t want me to.” You looked up and gave him a look, mouth full, which he smiled at and huffed out a soft laugh. Once you were able to swallow, you crossed your arms with a playful glare. “So you wait until I can’t defend myself, is that it? Ass.” You sighed and picked up your fork once more, scooping up a bit of the Shepard’s Pie. “It’s not that I don’t want you to, it’s that I don’t want you to feel like you _have_ to all because we’re acquaintances. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable and as if I’m expecting you to when we barely even know each other. That’s kinda rude to do.” You glanced up to see your classmate staring at you. “..What?”

“Nothing.” He turned back to his own food. After that, the conversation between you stopped. The silence, broken only by the chatter in the background, wasn’t uncomfortable, yet you felt like Todoroki wanted to say something. You kept stealing glances up at him, a bit concerned for your friend. Wait, no. He might not think of you as a friend yet, you really shouldn’t jump the gun and start calling him your friend. Finally, at about ten minutes before lunch was over, you both finished your food. “..I overheard Iida and Uraraka speaking to each other in the line earlier.” You tilted your head. “Oh?” He nodded. “They were talking about what Asui had said on the bus the other day, about your and Midoriya’s quirks being too similar to All Might’s, and it got me thinking.” You raised an eyebrow and leaned closer, planting your chin on your hand. “Are you All Might’s relative, or a secret love child?”

You blinked, and the minutes dragged on as your brain processed the utterly ridiculous statement. Finally, you started giggling. “Oh, dear God, I hope not! I feel like that would be kinda awkward if we actually figured out that we are related.” Todoroki narrowed his eyes. “Wouldn’t you know if you were his relative?”

“Absolutely not! I have no idea who my real parents are, and that means I haven’t the faintest clue who the rest of my family members are.” You leaned back and smiled at your companion. “Though, I kinda doubt I’m his daughter or niece; I don’t look like him at all.” He stared at you, completely confused. Or, at least you think he looked confused. It was really hard to read his facial expressions at times. He was probably not confused at all, but you really had no idea. “So, what are you going to do for the week?” You heard him shift. “Train.” You nodded as you leaned your chin on your hand once more, gaze roaming around the cafeteria. It landed on Iida and Uraraka, but strangely enough, Midoriya was nowhere in sight. You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion. “Would you like to join me?” Todoroki asked quietly. You returned your gaze to him and blinked.

“You wouldn’t mind?” He shook his head, and you shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

* * *

You blinked several times, hand still grasping the door handle. You barely heard Uraraka let out a bewildered noise as you gazed at the VERY large crowd of students huddled in front of your class door. “Um, hi?”

Uraraka stepped closer to you, hands holding onto her backpack straps. “Why the heck are you all here?”

“Do you students have some business with our class?” Iida asked. You heard Mineta a second later. “Why are you blocking our doorway? I won’t let you hold us hostage!”

“They’re scouting out the competition, idiots,” Bakugou growled out, walking past everyone with a scowl on his face. You shuffled over to allow him to pass you as well, seeing as you don’t really have anywhere else to go right now, “We’re the class that survived a real villain attack, they wanted to see us with their own eyes.” He stopped a foot away from the crowd, glaring into all their eyes. “At least now you know what a future Pro looks like,” You winced, rubbing your face with a loud groan, “Now move it, Extras.” You heard gasps from behind you, and the stares being directed at you both hardened. You glared at Bakugou.

“You can’t walk around calling people extras just because you don’t know who they are!” Iida yelled loudly as Midoriya and Uraraka made scared sounds behind you. Sighing, you hit the boy’s head. He whipped his head around to glare at you in fury as small explosions started to pop in his hands. Midoriya let out a gasp at your actions. “Hey, asshole, how ‘bout ya stop bein’ a dickhead for once in your life?” You glare at him with your hands on your hips. “You little bitch.” He growled. “I could say the same to you, Bakugou.” A vein popped in his neck and just as he was about to explode, another voice cut in, halting your little spat in its tracks.

“So this is Class 1-A?” You both turned around to see a tall teen push his way through the crowd, his wild mane of purple becoming clearer the more he walks towards you two. “I heard you guys were impressive, but you just sound like an ass. Is everyone in the Hero course delusional, or is it just you?” You snorted at that as Bakugou’s fury increased. “How sad to come here and find a bunch of egomaniacs.” He rubbed his neck and glanced up at you two. You raised an eyebrow, opening your mouth, yet he cut you off. “I wanted to be in the Hero course, but like many others here I was forced to pick a different track. Such is life. I didn’t cut it the first time around, but I have another chance.” He lowered his arm and stared into Bakugou’s hard glare head on. You had to hand it to him; not many could meet Bakugou’s - _Kanda’s_ \- glare and not back down immediately. “If any of us do well in the Sport’s Festival, the teachers can decide to transfer us into the Hero’s course. And they’ll have to transfer people out to make room.” His eyes flicked over your shoulder to take in your classmates. “Scouting the competition? Maybe some of my peers are, but I’m here to let you know that if you don’t bring your very best I’ll steal your spot right from under you. Consider this a declaration of war.”

For a tense minute, the purple haired kid and Bakugou stared each other down. Then, someone shouted, gathering the attention of everyone. A silver haired boy with teeth like Kirishima’s glared at you all, eyes wide in a mix of determination and anger. “Hey you! I’m in Class 1-B next door to you! We heard you fought some villains, and I came to see if that was true, but you’re just a bunch of brats who think they’re better than us!” You groaned loudly and long, looking up at the ceiling in annoyance. “WHY do you all think we think that thanks to one idiot? We’re not all bad, it’s just this asshole here!” You jerked your thumb at the teen next to you and he barked out an insult at you. “Like seriously? We literally have done nothing to you all and yet you’re assuming things based on one person! That is highly rude of you all!”

“Talk all you want, but it’ll just be more embarrassing when you’re K.O.!” The boy ignored you, and with an annoyed huff, Bakugou turned and left. “DON’T YOU IGNORE ME!” 

“Right back at ya, jackass!” You yelled with an annoyed expression. Behind you, your classmates murmured between them, and the angry teen before you tore his gaze from Bakugou’s retreating back to you. “Dude, where are you going? You got to say something; it’s your fault they’re all hating on us, Bakugou!” Kirishima called out, leaning around you to look at him and Bakugou turned around. “These people don’t matter.”

“Huh?”

“I agree with that. Huh?” You tilted your head.

“The only thing that’s important is that I beat them.” At this, he turned back around and started walking away again. “HEY!” The teen from before yelled out. “I’M COMING FOR YOU!” Kirishima groaned. “I hate that that was such a manly exit.” You snorted at that while Kaminari glanced at the redhead in confusion. “You said it.” Sato replied. “We have to beat them, he wasn’t wrong.” Tokoyami added. “Yeah sure, but this sucks! He made us everyone’s enemy!” The human pikachu groaned.

“Yeah, that’s right!” You turned as Mineta yelled his agreement, quickly spotting Todoroki heading towards you. “All of these dumb students will be gunning for us in the Festival now!” You turned around to face the purple haired teen still standing in front of the classroom. “I swear, he’s the only one like that in this class. No one else is as crazy as he is.” The teen let out a snort before walking away, fixing you with one last cold stare as he left. You felt a cold hand land on your left shoulder as you stared off at the student. “Well, goodbye to you, too!” You call out before turning to Todoroki. 

“So, I asked Aizawa if we can use the gym for the week, and he agreed to it. We can do it either before or after school seeing how I’m here for both.” He nodded and slipped past you. “Let’s get started then.” You blinked as you followed him. “Wait, you wanna do it now? Shouldn’t you inform your guardian or something first?”

“He won’t notice as long as I get home in time for dinner.” You nodded slowly at that, wisely choosing to ignore the sudden cold tone in his voice. “Okay, well, I’m going to inform my own guardians. They’re probably going to be in another meeting today, so we’ll be free in the gym for a couple hours.” With that, you skipped towards the teacher’s lounge, Todoroki hot on your heels. Opening the door, you hopped through the doorway and gazed around. Surprisingly, Thirteen was there, and so were all the other teachers. Todoroki followed inside as you waved to get their attention. “Hey Aizawa!” The yellow caterpillar besides his desk groaned. “Todoroki and I are going to the gym! Come get me when you’re done with the meeting, okay?” Present Mic grinned and stood up.

“Aleah!” 

“Present Mic!” He spread his arms out and you ran over with a grin, jumping so you could wrap your arms and your legs around his waist. “Hi!” You felt his arms wrap around you and he squeezed. “Hello again, Aleah,” Midnight called as she stood up with a small smile, “How was your day so far?”

“Meh, at first. It’s nice now, though.” Thirteen chuckled. “Well, you two should go to the gym before Hound Dog locks it up.” With that, you let go and slid to your feet, smiling up at your other guardian. He snapped his fingers and passed you a slip of paper before you could turn away. “Give this to Hound Dog and he’ll let ya in!” Nodding, you skipped away, jumping over Aizawa who really shouldn’t be on the floor with that many injuries. You grabbed Todoroki’s hand and dragged him towards where you believed the gym was located at a fast pace. You weren’t quite sure where it was, and so the two of you made a few wrong turns. Finally, you turned another corner to see Hound Dog locking up the gym. “Wait!” You called and sprinted, dragging a surprised Todoroki behind you. “Wait, we need to use it!” The giant dog man turned, growling lowly as he gazed at you. You presented him the paper slip and he took it, eyes darting across the words quickly before unlocking the gym. He growled at you as you smiled up at him, walking into the large room. “You have until the meeting is over.” With that, he closed the door behind you two as the lights flickered on. You turned to your companion with a large smile on your face. “So, what do you wanna do first?”

* * *

You groaned as you flopped into your bed. Nighttime had fallen a while ago, yet the city was still alive. You shifted onto your back as you glanced around your room. You were almost done decorating it; it was just missing a few things, and it almost resembled your room back in the Or-

A wave of sadness and fear washed over you, and tears slowly appeared in your eyes. You...haven’t actually had the chance to let the fact that you’re now a traitor to your family sink in. In fact, you were so busy this past week that everything that happened just hasn’t sunk in yet. As your mind started racing over the memories from the moment you left that cell, you curled up into a fetal position and the tears started to fall. 

You eyed the door as sobs quickly took hold of your body. Should you..? No, best not to worry them. They already have enough on their plate. All energy in you quickly left you as you snuggled into your bed, trying desperately to muffle the sounds of crying. You slid the blanket over your body and flopped it over your head.

You didn’t know when it happened, but you fell asleep at some point, and you slowly pried your eyes open at the sound of your alarm blaring next to you. You groaned softly as you reached out a hand to silence it, already slipping back into colorless slumber before your alarm blared again, this time louder than before. You turned it off quickly, brain waking up as your third alarm turned on a minute after. Finally, after five alarms, you groaned and sat up, rubbing your eyes as your stomach growled loudly. You blinked as memories came back from last night. Sighing, you slid out of your bed and headed to the kitchen for some much needed food. You had fallen asleep before you could eat dinner, and now your stomach was taking it’s anger out on you.

As you grabbed food from the fridge, you glanced out the dark window...Today was going to be hard, wasn’t it?

* * *

A week later, you were groaning as you flopped into an empty chair in the faculty room. “Why can’t I just skip this festival?” Aizawa sighed. “Suspicion. Besides, most of the Order won’t watch it, correct? They’re too busy to think about a festival in another country.” You groaned again, sinking into the comfortable chair more. “But, what if Central finds it?”

“Did you?” Your other guardian piped up. “I mean, you didn’t even know about there being a festival all about showing off your quirks in Japan, and you lived in the Order all your life. From what we know of Exorcists, you weren’t all that busy when you weren’t on a mission.” Your gaze moved from the ceiling to Present Mic. “Still, why?” They ignored you as more of the teachers came in. Some greeted you as they walked by, and you waved at a few while staring miserably at the white ceiling. “Young Walker?” You heard a deep voice call out to you, and you shifted so you could lazily glance at the teacher. “Good morning, All Might.”

“Something wrong..?” You grimaced. “This one,” Present Mic leaned on your chair with a grin, “Doesn’t want to participate in the Sports Festival.” At this, you gained curious glances. You ignored them and continued to trace patterns in the ceiling. Someone cleared their throat, and you glanced at Present Mic. He smiled down at you and quickly dropped a folded up paper into your lap when the other teachers had their backs turned. Quirking an eyebrow, you unfolded the paper and read it. Blinking, you sat up straight in shock.

_“Nezu is having the Order’s computers shut down for the next couple days. By that time, we would have been able to get rid of any trace of you in the footage. Don’t worry, and go have fun!”_

You smirked and crumbled it, tossing it into a nearby trash can. “So, Aleah,” Midnight asked as she sat at her desk, “Why don’t you want to participate?” You glanced at Aizawa and Present Mic. They either ignored you or they weren't paying attention at all. “Well, a couple reasons, really.” You leaned forward and planted your chin in your hands, resting against your legs. “I guess the biggest reason would be because of stage fright. I’ve actually performed in front of large audiences before, but not as big as most of the world. And I’ve never been on camera before, either. Well, to my knowledge.” At this, you sighed softly, remembering the numerous times you’ve recorded prank reactions back at the Order. “And another reason would be because I really don’t want to hurt my classmates.”

You heard a groan. “Oh god, not this again.” Aizawa muttered under his breath. “Aleah, what have I told you? You won’t-”

“‘Won’t hurt them because you’ve got a whole lot more control than you think you do’. Yeah, I know,” Your (e/c) eyes bored a hole into your guardian’s head, “But the fear is still there. I could literally blow everyone in the stands away if I mess up, and then someone could get hurt. Or I could kick my opponent and their chest could cave in and kill them. Honestly, this whole thing is depending on my ability to keep a grip on my quirk.” You huffed and stood up, stretching a little before grabbing your backpack. You took out the Tupperware from it and headed for the door. “I’m going to go find a microwave. See you guys later!”

“Wait, young Walker!”

You left the room without a glance back.

* * *

You watched the students slowly trickle into the school from your vantage point. You felt the breeze stir your hair, picking up scents and pushing them against your nose. Honestly, you missed feeling the wind; you haven’t had the time to go hunting yet since you moved in with the two Pro Heros. Crossing your legs, you leaned back to stare at the blue sky. You could hear birds singing all around you and a faint smile stretched your lips slightly. 

You decided that hanging out on the roof would be a better place to wait on than in the faculty room in the mornings. It felt more like home. A pang of sadness hit you, yet you squashed it down. _The Order’s not your home anymore._

Your phone vibrated and you glanced down at it. More messages on the class chat popped up as more of your classmates started using their phones.

_“Good morning, everybody!” -Bubbles_

_“How are you guys?” -Bubbles_

_“Good morning! I’m doing good! How about you, Uraraka?” -Strawberry_

_“I’m so excited! I hardly slept last night thanks to the nervousness and excitement!” -Bubbles_

_“Uraraka! That is not good for you! Please try to sleep better!” -Emergency Exit Iida_

_“Does anyone know what today is going to bring??” -Sticky Spider_

You hummed as you tapped out a reply. 

_“Sorry, I tried getting info out of the teachers all week; they kept their mouths shut pretty tight. Midnight was the only one who gave away anything, but I don’t think the look she got was a good one.” -You_

_“I swear, women are terrifying…” -Tiny Purple Pervert_

_“Excuse you?” -You_

_“Thank you.” -You_

You smiled and stood up from your spot on the edge of the roof. Stretching, you made your way back inside, checking the chat every now and again as you went down to the girl’s locker room. There, you changed into your school gym clothes, frowning at the pair of ruined white shoes inside your locker. You had destroyed them on your first day at school, when Bakugou startled you to the point of activating your Innocence. You have still yet to replace them, so you decided to walk around in your normal red heels. It would be easier to shift between your boots and normal shoes if you did that.

You slipped the heels on and left the room, skipping your way to the teacher’s lounge with clicks accompanying you. Poking your head in, you noticed that only Present Mic and Aizawa were still in the room. Smiling softly, you crept in as your guardians noticed you. “So, where do we go from here?”

* * *

Thunderous cheers echoed through the halls as you waited with your classmates for your cue to enter. Beside you fidgeting nervously was Midoriya. You picked at your shorts as you hummed, glancing at the boy every now and then. “You okay, Midoriya?” You ask softly, fingers twitching closer to Pandora. The night before, you had painted the black golem to look like the night sky, so now you had your own piece of the stars. Thankfully, you were able to enter it as a Support item. Pandora flapped closer to you as Midoriya glanced at you. “I-I’m fine. Just a bit nervous..” You smiled in understanding. “Yeah, I get that. Today is going to be kinda stressful for us all.” You glanced around. “Say, do you know who’s going to be the one to do the introductory speech?” Midoriya tapped his chin in thought. “I think it might be Kaachan..”

“Well, that’s a disaster waiting to happen.” You say with a deadpan expression, tapping your finger on Pandora’s screen. A hologram of a list of songs appeared and you scrolled through it. “Um, Walker?” You glanced over at him and hummed. “What-What is that? I’ve never seen anything like it before.” You smiled at him and his cheeks darkened. “This is Pandora. It’s a golem a family member of mine made for me. He’s an inventor, and everyone in the family has one. They’re mostly used for communication, but mine has this special feature where it’ll play music for me,” You tapped on a song and soft piano trickled through, “Depending on what I need, it’ll play different genres.”

“Why do you have it?” You turned off the song and switched over to your hip hop file. “I need a beat or something constant to keep me focused. If I don’t, I might end up hurting someone or myself badly. Songs are the best way to keep my head in the game, somehow.” You hummed to yourself as Midoriya looked over your shoulder to watch. “How does it work? Does it do other things as well?” You opened your mouth, but was interrupted by Iida running through the doorway.

“Everyone! Get your game faces on! We’re entering the arena soon!” At this, Midoriya sighed as Mineta began mumbling. “Swallow your fear, swallow your fear, swallow your fear!” You rolled your eyes as Todoroki stepped closer to you three. “Midoriya.” You glanced at him in curiosity. “H-Hey, Todoroki. What’s up?” You glanced around. Everyone had stopped talking and was now watching the interaction between the two boys. “From an objective standpoint, I think it’s fairly clear that I’m stronger than you.”

“..Yeah.” You narrowed your eyes. _‘What the hell is he..?’_

“However, you’ve got All Might in your corner helping you out.” Midoriya gasped softly as you tilted your head. “I’m not here to pry about what’s going on between you two, but know that I will beat you.” Todoroki coldly stared at Midoriya and Kaminari shifted in his seat. “What’s up with all these declarations of war recently..?” Kirishima stood up with a concerned expression and walked over to Todoroki, planting a hand on his shoulder. “Yeah, what’s the big deal? Why are you picking a fight all of a sudden? And right before we get started!” Todoroki shoved the redhead away harshly. “We’re not here to be each other’s friends,” He started walking away, “Don’t forget this isn’t a team effort.”

“Wait a sec, Todoroki.” You blinked and turned to Midoriya. His eyes traced unseen patterns in the tiles below you. “I don’t know what’s going through your head, or why you think you need to tell me you’ll beat me,” Todoroki glanced back, “And yeah, of course you’re better than me. In fact, you probably have way more potential than anyone in the Hero course. That’s why you got in so easily.” Kirishima splayed his hands out in front of him and nervously smiled. “Midoriya, maybe you’re being a little hard on yourself and us.”

“No, he’s right, you guys!” He clenched his hands into fists. “All the other courses, they’re coming for us with everything they’ve got! We’re all going to have to fight to stand out.” He looked up with the most determined expression you’ve seen on someone.

- _Silver eyes glanced up at you with a steely gaze. His determination to come out on top even in a hopeless situation like this sparked your own. You flicked your gaze back to Road and the three Akuma behind her, wind from your boots whipping the dress the psychotic girl shoved you into around you. You’ll win._ -

“And I’ll be aiming for the top, too.” Todoroki paused as he flicked his gaze between you and Midoriya. “Fine.” A tense silence laid heavy on everyone as they started getting up to leave the room. You glanced at Midoriya and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Strawberry? You good?” He met your gaze and smiled reassuringly. “Yeah, I’m fine. Lets go!” You nodded with a smile and linked arms with him, completely missing a huge blush engulfing his face. You hummed a tune as Uraraka joined you two on your other side, smiling brightly at you both. You heard Present Mic’s voice echo through the halls as you walked. **_“Hey! Make some noise, you rabid Sports fans!”_ ** The already thunderous cheers became louder as you all walked through the long, dark hallway, heading for the giant doorway of light. **_“Get those cameras prepped, media hoard! This year, we’re bringing you some of the hottest performances in the Sports Festival history, guaranteed! I’ve only got one question before we start this show: ARE YOU READY?!”_ **

The crowd answered, and you let a grin tug at your lips. **_“Let me hear you SCREAM as our students make their way to the BIG STAGE!”_ ** Trumpets started playing proudly as the crowd cheered, excited to see what this year’s batch of new students will look like. **_“This first group are no strangers to the spotlight, and you know them for withstanding a Villain attack; the dazzling students lighting up on your T.V.s with *star gold skills*; the Hero course students of Class 1A!”_ ** Your class stepped through the doorway as you slid your arms out of your companions’ hold. Immediately, the cheering became louder as the audience spotted you all. Midoriya glanced around at the stands with an increasingly anxious expression. “Um..I didn’t know there would be so many people..” He mumbled in a high voice and you placed your hand on his shoulder, rubbing small circles on it in an effort to comfort him.

“I hope we are still able to give our best performance even though all these eyes are watching us,” Iida replied, gaze in another direction. “I suppose it’s just another aspect of being a Hero we all need to learn to get used to.”

“Present Mic shouldn’t talk us up a lot!” Kirishima called out. “That makes me nervous. How are you feeling, man?” Bakugou lifted his head slightly with a growing smirk on his face. “I’m not worried. Makes me want to win this thing even more.” **_“They haven’t had NEARLY as much screen time, but this next group is STILL chock full of talent! Welcome Hero course Class 1B!”_** You turned your head to see another group exiting another doorway, most with large smirks on their faces. You waved at them and continued walking. **_“Next up: General Studies Classes C, D, and E! Support Classes F, G,_** **_and H! And finally, Business Classes I, J, and K! Give it up for all of U.A.’s first year contestants!”_ ** You sighed as the crowd’s volume surged once more, causing some anxiety and nervousness to settle deep in your gut. An Akuma hoard might hear this.. ****

“I get the feeling we’re just here to make the Hero students look better..” You blinked. “I can’t wait for this to be over with.” You turned around to gaze at the General Studies students, meeting some of the gazes already directed at your class. They flinched, but before they could look away, you sent a small smile and a shy wave their way. As you turned back, your eyes went over a wild mane of purple, and you flicked them back. Sure enough, the kid from a week before was there, striding across the grass with a carefully neutral face. He glanced at you, and his eyes narrowed before looking away. You hummed, quirking your mouth to the side and glanced away. ****

Once all the students in the first year gathered in front of the large stand, Midnight flicked her flogger in the air to gain the attention of everyone. **_“Now the introductory speech!”_ ** She spoke into the microphone as the audience fawned over her. ****

“Um, someone should talk to Midnight about what she’s wearing..” Kirishima muttered and Kaminari nodded in agreement. “Yeah, that costume should come with a warning.” Tokoyami sighed. “Is that really appropriate apparel for a high school game?” Mineta stuck his thumb up, drool escaping his mouth as he took in the teacher’s Hero costume. **_“Silence, everyone! And for the student pledge, we have Bakugou Katsuki!”_ ** Midoriya flinched in shock. “He’s the first year rep?” You nudged him. “Looks like you got it right!” ****

“I guess that hothead DID finish first in the Entry test..” Sero replied. Someone sighed nearby. “Only for the Hero course exams.” You turned with the rest of your class to see two students staring at you with annoyed expressions. Midoriya awkwardly shuffled his feet. “Oh, right.” Sero turned away with a grimace. “That girl obviously hates us..” ****

“Yeah, and we’ve got Bakugou to thank for them not liking our class.” Kaminari glared at the blond as he climbed the steps. You continued staring at the two students, meeting their annoyed glares with your own cold one. They looked away after a minute and you nodded, turning back to Bakugou as Midoriya gulped audibly. **_“I just want to say, I’m gonna win.”_ ** With that, you slapped your forehead as everyone in your class screamed and the students around you booed loudly. ****

“I KNEW HE’D SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT!” ****

“What is WRONG with that boy!?” You raise your hands to the sky with a loud groan. “Zeus, if you can hear me, strike some sense into that arrogant idiot!” Iida stepped closer to Bakugou, arm going up and down like crazy. “Why would you be so disrespectful? You’re representing us all!” Bakugou turned around and glared at him. “It’s not my fault that the rest of you are just stepping stones to my victory.” He gave the crowd of students behind him a thumbs down. The Kirishima Clone snarled. “I’m going to crush these overconfident jerks! I can’t wait to knock you down to size!” Bakugou walked off the stage with Iida scolding him behind him. He knocked his shoulder into Midoriya’s, and the smaller boy watched as he left. You growled at him, glaring at the boy’s back. A few minutes later, and the crowd was calm once more.

Well, as calm as it could get with everyone glaring at Class 1A.

**_“Without further adieu, it’s time for us to get started!”_ **

“U.A. really doesn’t want us to catch a breath, huh?” Uraraka said somewhere to your left. You tilted your head. “Seems like it.”

 **_“This is where you start feeling the pain! The first fateful game of the festival! What could it be?”_ ** With that, a large screen behind her turned on, and a spinner like thing appeared on it, names of games already flying by. It slowed down, and it finally stopped on-

**_“Tada!”_ **

“So it’s going to be an obstacle course..” Midoriya muttered beside you. You hummed, trying to hide your growing smile behind your hand. ‘Well, this’ll be fun.’ 

**_“All seven classes will participate in this treacherous contest. The track is four kilometers around the outside of the stadium! I don’t want to restrain anyone, at least in this game, as long as you don’t leave the course, you’re free to do whatever your heart desires!”_ ** The crowd cheered in excitement as the students around you murmured. **_“Now then, take your places contestants!”_ ** As the crowd of students moved towards a gate in the stadium, three lights on it turned green with a beep. Your anklets shifted with the rise of excitement in you and everyone shifted as they got ready to run. You caught Midoriya’s gaze and smiled at him. “Good luck, Strawberry!”

He adopted a peculiar expression as he rubbed his arms and nodded, turning back to the gate. One by one, the green lights went out, and on the last one, everyone surged forwards. **_“Begin!”_ ** The crowd pushed you forwards and you started jogging along with everyone else. Your anklets began to slowly shift into your boots, careful not to scratch anyone else in the process. You heard a shout up ahead as you pushed your way through the narrow gate. Sighing, you shoved yourself in semi tight places between students to get to the front, unaware that Midoriya followed your lead and was right behind you, using the same openings you went through.

 **_“And we’re off to a racing start!”_ ** Present Mic commented as he addressed Aizawa. **_“How about some colorful commentary, buddy man?”_ **

**_“..How did you talk me into this?”_ **

**_“What should we be paying attention to in the early stages of the race?”_ ** Aizawa sighed. **_“The doorway.”_ ** You snorted, gaining a couple odd looks from your peers. The students around you condensed, and you gasped as someone accidentally shoved their elbow into your gut. ‘You know what, screw it!’ You thought and crouched, powering up your boots as people around you tripped over your body. You jumped, hitting a few people along the way, and landed on the ceiling. Sighing, you glanced beneath you. Just as you glanced down, ice covered most of everyone’s feet, freezing them to the ground. ****You whipped your head around and spotted Todoroki running away, ice springing forth from his right foot. You pouted and stood up, tying your hair into pigtails. You started running and leapt, flipping in midair. Landing, you took off running, keeping your boots activated in order to avoid getting stuck. You looked up and noticed that Bakugou, Aoyama, and Momo were ahead of you, Kirishima yelling as he jumped over the ice. “Nice trick, Todoroki!” Momo yelled as Bakugou used his explosions to propel him faster. “I won’t let you get away so easily, you Icy-Hot BASTARD!” Ojiro and Tokoyami appeared next to you, using their quirks to get them across Todoroki’s obstacle. “You froze me in place once before; it won’t happen again!” You heard Mina laugh in excitement and glanced back; she was using her acid to skate on the ice. Behind her, everyone carefully walked on the ice, unable to use their quirks to get them across faster. ****

You turned around just in time to see Mineta jump, pulling off the balls of stickiness of his head and throwing them ahead of him, jumping from one to another. He bounced high into the air off of one. “You think you’re so cool, but I’ve outsmarted you! Ha! How pathetic, Todoroki! Beat this: my special attack!” He yelled as he flew closer to your classmate, pulling off another ball. “Gra-” ****

A robotic leg hit him, and he went flying to the ground. You winced and looked up. **_“TARGETS ACQUIRED. OBLITERATE THEM.”_ ** Your eyes widened and you jumped, avoiding a giant leg smashing into the spot you were once at. You flipped in midair to look at the giant robot. ‘Well, shit, this isn’t good.’ You barely heard Midoriya gasp. “It’s those robots from the entrance exam!” ****

**_“Oh, enemies have shown up out of nowhere! I bet we’re in for a treat here! A test of strength and cunning! It’s a robo infernal!”_ ** You landed and groaned. ‘They’re even bigger than Komui’s..’ Kaminari skidded to a halt behind you. “Are those the Zero point villains from the Practical test?!” Cries of outrage rang through the air as the students realized what was going on. “So this is what the other students faced in their Entrance exams.” Todoroki muttered to himself and you tilted your head. “How the hell did they survive that?” Suddenly, a robot sprang into motion, but before you could do anything, ice covered it, stopping it in its tracks. “They obviously went through a lot of trouble, but I wish they would’ve prepared something a little more difficult.” Todoroki said as he crouched, ice springing from his right hand and foot. “Especially since my dear old dad is watching.” ****

You narrowed your eyes, brow scrunching in confusion. ‘What?’

As the fog created by the sudden iceberg faded away, you watched as Todoroki ran away, heading for the finish line. “Dude, he stopped the robots!”

“Look! Between their legs, we can get through!” Todoroki called from over his shoulder. “Careful now! I froze them while they were off their balance!” 

...What?

The robots groaned loudly as some ice broke off and they started falling towards the crowd of students. “On purpose!” You gasped and, without thinking, ran forward. You jumped, boots flashing as your peers screamed behind you. You twisted as you maneuvered yourself to be horizontal, the air around you following the movements of your legs. “Waltz: Mist Winds!” A giant tornado was sent towards a cluster of robots, sending them flying off of the track. You stopped and let yourself fall to the ground. You spun and landed on your feet, the force of impact cracking the ground below you. You exhaled, closing your eyes and slumping in relief. “That was a close one…” Unfortunately, you had missed a few, and they fell to the ground and an earthshaking thud, kicking dust everywhere.

**_“That’s Todoroki from Class 1A, pulling ahead to an early lead with a devastating display! Amazing! He’s one we should watch! It almost seems unfair! And-”_ **

**_“His attack was both offensive and defensive.”_ **

**_“No wonder he was let in on Recommendations! He never even fought those *robo infernals* before, but they didn’t stand a chance against his sure tough move! And let’s not forget about Walker! She never fought them before either, yet she was able to push them completely off the track with just one move! Talk about crazy powerful!”_ ** You turned to see smaller robots appear where the giants ones were once at. Groaning, you stood up. **_“The first year students are off to a rocking start, and it’s only the first round! Talk about a cruel obstacle course! Our players are racing against each other in a vicious battle where anything goes as long as they stay on the track!”_ **

**_“Watch it.”_ **

**_“We’ll continue to bring you live updates and pulse pounding action thanks to the camera robots placed around the course!”_ **

**_“Why did you bring me here?”_ **

**_“The stakes are high; we’ve got a whole school of top notch students trying to be Heros. But do they really stand a chance against our heavy metal swarm of buff robo infernals!”_ **

“Hey!” Someone shouted behind you as the giant robots closed in. “There’s someone trapped under that robot!” Your eyes widened and whipped your head around to the robots you missed earlier. “Do you think we should try to help them?” Your eyes narrowed. “Are people seriously gonna die here?” You sprinted towards it, determination flowing through your veins before the top of one leg cracked. You skidded to a halt as something shot through, breaking the metal and ice apart with a scream. “I’M ALIVE!”

 **_“Kirishima from Class 1A!”_ ** You blinked in surprise as you took in his hardened skin. **_“What a hardcore *entrance* from this rookie!”_ ** Kirishima leaned forwards with a huge sigh. “Todoroki...can’t believe you’d pull something like that! Jeez,” He turned around with an annoyed frown, “Anyone but me would’ve been killed!” At this point, a spot near him burst apart. “Class 1A really is full of jerks!” The Kirishima Double roared as he jumped out of the hole he created. “I’ll smash that ice guy when I get my hands on him!”

**_“Oh! Tetsutetsu from Class 1B was also stuck underneath! What are the odds?”_ **

Tetsutetsu sighed harshly as he stood up. “You know, anyone other than me would’ve been killed!” A moment of silence passed as he noticed Kirishima staring at him incredulously. You doubled over and started laughing maniacally, too amused by the similarities between them. You heard fast footsteps before you and Kirishima’s voice called out in frustration. “Our quirks are pretty much the same! How am I supposed to stand out now?”

“You damn copycat!” Tetsutetsu yelled as they both ran up the side of the fallen robot, jumping over to the other side. “Man, how lucky are they?” Kaminari groaned from behind you. “They don’t have to be worried about being crushed!”

“We’re racing each other, but lets team up for now!” Another boy called out, his arm turning neon green with some sort of scaly second skin spreading from his fingers. A loud explosion shook the ground, and you wiped away tears that appeared from your laughing fit, still giggling. Everyone looked up to see Bakugou use his explosions to propel himself higher. “Bakugou?!” The class pikachu yelled. **_“Class 1A’s Bakugou is rocketing over the obstacles! Clever!”_ ** Sero jumped up, tape rocketing from his elbows to stick to a robot and flew closer to it. “I figured you’d try to blast your way through these things with your quirk! I’m impressed!” Tokoyami appeared behind him, his quirk carrying him. Sighing, you watched as they disappeared with Bakugou over the edge. You moved back, crouched, and took off. You jumped, avoiding the robots around you before finally landing in front of the trio. You quickly deactivated the _Dark Boots_ as you ran, allowing them to pass you. Bakugou glared at you with fury, which you stared back at as he quickly left you behind.

You could hear your classmates right behind you, destroying the robots as they go and leaving the other classes behind. **_“For those of you who thought the first obstacle was easy,”_ ** You gasped and slid to a stop as you took in the sight before you. It reminded you a lot of a platform game, yet at the same time, the next obstacle looked nothing like one. You crept closer to peek over the edge and could see that there was a near bottomless canyon between the towers of rock. Connecting the rocky towers were long, thick metal chords, **_“Let’s see how you feel about the second one! Anyone wants to pass this test, they’re going to have to get creative!”_ **

Bakugou roared as he used his explosions to catch up with Todoroki. You glanced behind you to see the other first years quickly catching up. You locked gazes with Midoriya and you smiled at him, waving before you activated your Innocence once more. Turning back around, you took off, running to the edge and jumping off. Once you landed, maniacal laughter reached you and a girl zoomed past you, loud laughter trailing behind her as she landed a little bit ahead of you. Your eyes widened as you realized that she was wearing several different mechanical gadgets on her body. You watched as she continued, shaking your head. “Just, what?” You groaned and jumped again, deciding to ignore it for now.

**_“In the world of Heros, it could be hard to get popular without a flashy quirk. Right, Eraserhead?”_ **

**_“I don’t know what you’re talking about, idiot."_ **

“YOU SUCK!” You whipped your head up to see Bakugou quickly gaining on Todoroki, who was currently still in the lead. You rolled your eyes as you landed once more, now on the other side of the obstacle and deactivated your boots. You continued on, ignoring Present Mic’s commentary. You scrunched your nose as a lightning bolt of pain raced up your leg; your feet were starting to hurt. You need to finish this soon. Even though you were used to wearing heels now, you still weren’t used to it enough to run in them, despite your Innocence taking on the form of heeled boots. For some reason, the boots never hurt you. You decided to chalk it up to it being an almost magical weapon.

**_“And now, we’re finally approaching the last obstacle, and everyone had better tread carefully; YOU’RE STEPPING ONTO A MINEFIELD!”_ **

“Shit!” You cursed and slid to a halt. **_“If you look carefully, you can see where those little bombs are buried, so keep your eyes on the prowl folks! By the way, those landmines were designed for the games. So they might be loud and flashy, but they’re not all that powerful; JUST ENOUGH TO MAKE YOU WET YOUR PANTS!”_ ** You heaved out a breath as you watched Todoroki start across the minefield. “This..might be bad.” You mutter to yourself.

You glanced at the ground and sighed. There is no way you’ll be able to cross using the _Dark Boots_ ; you’ll just land on a bomb you didn’t see in the air, so you'll just have to cross the old fashioned way. At this point, most of everyone was right behind you, so with a shrug, you started speed walking across.

 **_Boom!_ ** “Ah!” You flinched, covering your ears with your hands. Oh no.

_**Boom!** _

**_Boom!_ ** You froze and squeezed your eyes shut, chest heaving as your breathing picked up. Oh no. Ohh no, nononono. _This wasn’t good._ Several more explosions rocked the ground and you crouched, placing your hands over your ears to try and block the sound. You sucked in some air as slowly as you could.

- _You watched, frozen, with wide eyes as Master took down the Level 2's. After a moment, you hesitatingly took a step back as the explosions rocked your body and you began to tear up. The Level 2's were so..._ **_horrifying_ ** _. Much different from the balloon shaped Level 1's behind you. A canon went off from behind you, and your already wide eyes widened further._

_Time seemed to slow down as you turned your head, eyes moving around frantically as they took in the bullet coming straight for your head, growing bigger as each second passed. Your leg moved on its own, flying up to block the bullet. You twisted your body as you kicked it away, making it hit a nearby tree. You flinched and glanced back at the blank eyes watching you, clouded over with blood lust and death. You shook your head and focused on destroying the Akuma, adjusting the slipping mask to protect your airways. You jumped forward, slamming your small foot into one and twisted, tearing the body apart as you flipped away._

_You landed and the Akuma exploded, knocking the Level 1's surrounding it away and stunning them. You ran towards one and jumped, landing feet first into the strong metal. You crouched into the attack and jumped, flipping over to another as the last one exploded into a pile of ash._ _As you finished up the last one, you heard a loud rumble underneath you. “ALEAH!” Master called out, his voice full of fear. You glanced down and your eyes widened in horror as a giant, twisted spider like Akuma appeared out from the ground, its jaws opened wide._

_You screamed as it closed its mouth around you. Your Innocence flashed from the close contact of Dark Matter. The Level 2 growled loudly as it tried to swallow you. You kicked it as hard as you could in the limited space you had. “Master!” You screeched._

_Suddenly, a chain tore through the head of the Akuma, wrapping itself around your torso. A force pulled you through the Akuma, and the Innocence invaded the Level 2’s body, making it explode. You were pulled into a pair of arms, which tightened around you in a hug. You trembled, wide eyes staring back at the burning corpse of the Akuma. Tears blurred your vision as Master squeezed you tightly. He hushed you, rubbing circles into your back as you both trembled. Your breathing quickly picked up, making you gasp for air as you start crying, the sobs shaking your body._

_“Breathe, Aleah. You need to breathe slowly. I know that was scary, but you need to pull yourself together right now,” He said soothingly as he picked you up, letting you hide your face into his_ _neck. Thankfully, your Innocence was still activated. If it wasn’t, an old man like him would’ve broken his back trying to pick you up, “This is not a good place to break down right now.” He started running from the poisonous air, heading towards a fresher area._

 _“Just breathe, you’ll be alright. Pull yourself together.”_ -

“Come on, Aleah,” You muttered as you continued to breathe as slowly as you could, pulling your hair to snap out of your panic, “You can do this. It’s just some harmless bombs.” You opened your eyes and brought your hands in front of you. They were shaking. “Stand up, and continue onward. _Pull yourself together._ ” You slowly stood up on your weak legs, knees shaking as you propped yourself up. “Pandora, ” The golem wiggled out of your gym jacket’s pocket and flapped next to your head, " _Born for This_." The screen turned red and music poured out of the speakers. You tapped the screen and a hologram appeared, showcasing the controls. You tapped the volume setting and dragged it up, making the music louder. Huffing out a breath, you turned your gaze back to the front, spotting Bakugou and Todoroki fighting for the lead.

_"I'm checking my vital signs, drawing my battle line, going to war again. Feeling the rhythm inside of my chest, all I need is just a pen. I know, I was born for this. I know, I was born for this-"_

_**Boom!** _ You flinched, stumbling. “No, stop. It’s just a harmless obstacle meant to slow you down,” You squeezed your hand into a fist, making your fingernails dig into your skin. “Just breathe. Imagine it’s a training session back in HQ.” You say as you close your eyes once more, listening to the song near your ear and inhaling. As you exhaled, you opened your eyes and took off.

_"-Don't care for the critics, my words are like physics; a force that they can't stop. They just don't get it, I think they forget I'm not done till I'm on top. I know, I was born for this. I know, I was born for this.-"_

You dodged other students as you avoided the bombs. Suddenly, a large explosion from behind you caused you to stumble, and your foot landed right on a bomb. You cursed and bent over backwards, shifting your weight to your hands as you flipped over and the bomb exploded with a plume of pink smoke. Your feet stomped on another and you sighed, activating your boots and jumping. The explosion gave you a boost and you flew through the air.

_"I believe, I believe we can write our story! I believe, I believe we can be an army!-"_

**_“What’s with that huge explosion in the back?! That was WAY more powerful than it should be!_ **

Once you landed, you spotted Midoriya with a large piece of metal flying through the air, heading straight towards the two frozen leaders. You laughed at the sight and started running to catch up, deciding to forgo avoiding the bombs. **_“INCREDIBLE! What just happened?! Whatever the case, Class 1A’s Midoriya Izuku is suddenly in hot pursuit of first place!”_ ** You grinned as you heard shocked yells from your peers, feet stomping on the bombs below and the explosions pushing you forward. **_“Strike that; THE LEAD IS HIS!”_ **

_"-We are the warriors, who learned to love the pain! We come from different places, but have the same name! 'Cause we were, 'cause we were, 'cause we were, 'cause we were born for this! We were born for this!-"_

Laughing slightly, you watched as Bakugou and Todoroki shook themselves out of their shock and started going after him, a trail of pink smoke and explosions following every step you make. Bakugou created an explosion and rocketed himself after the boy, yelling loudly in anger. “Deku, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?! HUH?!” Todoroki stomped his right foot and a slide of ice appeared. He ran onto it and started sliding away. _**“Look at that plot twist! Those two aren’t fighting anymore; they’re chasing Midoriya! That’s what having a common enemy**_ **_will do in this competition! This fight is still far from over, though! And oh! Class 1A’s Walker joined the pursuit! She’s steadily passing those two for second place!”_ **

_"-We are the broken ones, who chose to spark a flame! Watch as our fire rages, our hearts are never tame! 'Cause we were, 'cause we were, 'cause we were, 'cause we were born for this! We were born for this!-"_

The two in front of you glanced back and, with a giant grin, you waved at them. Bakugou growled loudly and turned back to Midoriya while Todoroki’s eyes widened in shock. He followed Bakugou’s lead and focused on trying to catch up with the smaller boy. Midoriya started to fall, gravity taking over, and Todoroki and Bakugou finally caught up to him. He twisted his body until his feet were near your classmates' shoulders and slammed the piece of metal on the ground.

_"-I've struggled for years and through all of the tears, I've faced the doubts I hide. I never gave into my fears deep within, 'cause I heard my voice inside. I know, I was born for this. I know, I was born for this. I will never lose my voice, if I cut out all the noise!-"_

Another explosion rocked the ground, hitting both the boys to the side while rocketing Midoriya to the finish line and you flinched, squeezing your eyes reflexively for a split second. You ran through the explosion, stomping on more bombs to prevent the two from getting back up sooner. As you exited the cloud of smoke, you noticed Midoriya land, rolling into a run.

_"-I know, I was born for this. I know, I was born for this. I believe, I believe we can write our story! I believe, I believe we can be an army!-"_

**_“With a stunning move, Midoriya has flown past his classmates from 1A. *And another thing*, he cleared that minefield in an instant! He’s now in first place with Walker quickly catching up!”_ ** He glanced back at you and you smiled back at him, deactivating your Innocence. **_“Eraserhead, your students are AMAZING! What the heck are you teaching them?!”_ ** ****

**_“This has nothing to do with me. Each of them are powered by their own drive to win.”_ ** ****

**_“There you have it! Eraserhead is a terrible teacher!”_ ** You laughed as you followed Midoriya into a narrow pathway with Todoroki and Bakugou tearing after you. **_“I WHAT.”_ **

_"-We are the warriors, who learned to love the pain! We come from different places, but have the same name! 'Cause we were, 'cause we were, 'cause we were, 'cause we were born for this! We were born for this!-"_ **  
**

You blocked the two teachers out and glanced back with a grin, giving them a wave with a smug glint in your eyes. The crowd cheered loudly as Midoriya crossed the threshold. **_“The first to make it back to the stadium is the first place winner! Midoriya Izuku is our champion!”_ ** You followed him and quickly slowed down to a walk, giving your legs a break. You smiled at a panting Midoriya, clapping. He returned the smile. He stood up and glanced around the stadium with a shocked look painted on his features. You walked up to him and clapped him on his back. “Nice job!” You say as he clenched his hand into a fist, tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

_"-We are the broken ones, who chose to spark a flame! Watch as our fire rages, our hearts are never tame! 'Cause we were, 'cause we were, 'cause we were, 'cause we were born for this! We were born for this!-"_

With a sniffle, he rubbed away the tears. You turned away and glanced around for Todoroki, quickly shutting off Pandora. You spotted him a few yards away and you walked closer to him as your golem dropped into your waiting hand and stuffed it into your pocket. Once you reached his side, you quickly bent down and slipped off your shoes, rubbing your heels to ease the pain. When you looked up, he was staring at Midoriya. “Todoroki?” He flinched in surprise and turned his gaze on you. “What are you doing?” He said nothing and shook his head. You shrugged slowly. **_“The contestants are pouring in one after another! Lets hear some applause for ALL our competitors as we prepare the results!”_ ** Todoroki walked away, heading for somewhere unknown to you. You watched him go with a slightly confused expression.

An exhausted voice called out. “Deku!” Uraraka ran tiredly towards the teen, catching both yours and Midoriya’s attention. “That was amazing!” 

“Oh, thank you!” She groaned as she stopped. “I can’t believe you got first place, I’m so jealous!” Midoriya flinched and covered his lower face with his arms, wrapping them around his head. “O-Oh, it was nothing.” You rolled your eyes as you walked closer to them with Iida following you. “That was pretty epic, Strawberry,” His gaze snaps to you with wide, unbelieving eyes, “And pretty smart as well! Good thing you kept that piece of metal with you.” He nodded, gaze drifting down as he thought quietly.

* * *

 **_“The first game for the first years is finally over, and what a game it was. Now, lets take a quick look at the standing, shall we?”_ ** Midnight said, and the screen quickly turned on. On it, ranks from one to forty-two popped up, each filled with a person’s name and a picture. Midoriya was at the top with your name just below his. You smiled at him proudly. **_“Only the top forty-two will advance to the next round, but don’t feel too left out if you didn’t make the cut. We’ve prepared other opportunities for you to shine!”_ **

You grimaced as she licked her lips. You _really_ don’t want to know what she meant by that. **_“Now, the REAL fun is about to begin. The chance to fully move yourselves into the limelight! Give your best!”_ ** The digital wheel spun again. **_“Lets see what we have in store for you next; will your wildest fantasies come to life, oh what could it be? The waiting is torture!”_ ** She placed her glasses like mask back on her face. **_“Prepare yourselves for this!”_ **

You peered closer to the screen. Kaminari grimaced. “Cavalry battle? I’m terrible at those!” 

**_“Allow me to explain; the participants will form teams of two to four people as they see fit. In theory, it’s basically the same as a regular playground game, but there is one difference. Each player has been assigned a point value based on the results from the obstacle course.”_ **Oh no. 

“I get it, a point based system like the Entrance exam,” Sato said, “That seems pretty simple.” Uraraka pursed her lips. “So that means each team will have a different point value based on which students are on it.” This..is going to be crazy, isn't it?

 **_“Maybe you should shut up and let me explain things to you!”_ ** You flinched at the loud sound. **_“Now, the point assignments go up by increments of five, starting from the bottom. For example, forty-second place is worth five points and forty-first is worth ten.”_ ** Oh god no. They wouldn’t, would they? **_“And the point value assigned to the first place contestant is ten million!”_ **God dammit, they did. You slowly turn to Midoriya with a grimace on your face. He had a shocked look on his face. You pat his back softly. ‘Poor Midoriya..’

His eyes widened and he gulped. “Ten million?” He asked in a tight, small voice. **_“That’s right, it’s survival of the fittest with a chance for those at the bottom to overthrow the top! Those of you at the top will suffer the most. Of course, that’s something you’ll hear over and over again at U.A. Show us what Plus Ultra means!”_ ** She pointed her flogger at Midoriya. **_“Midoriya Izuku placed first in the qualifier; he’ll be worth ten million!”_ **You watched as beads of sweat rolled down his face. 

**_“First years! These are the rules you’ll abide by! The game itself will last fifteen minutes. Individual point values will be added together to reach your team total. Everyone will know how much you’re worth thanks to your headbands. Swipe as many headbands as you can to raise your team’s score. Stolen headbands must be worn from the neck up, so the more you steal, the harder it’ll be to manage them. And another thing, even if your headband gets stolen or if your team falls down, you can keep playing until time’s up!”_ **

“It’s anyone’s game then,” Momo muttered as she touched her chin. “Yeah, and since there are forty-two contestants, there’ll be ten or twelve teams fighting on the field the entire time.” Sato added and you hummed. “Sounds hard,” You grinned, “But fun.” Mina placed a finger on her head. “So if you lose your headband in the beginning, you’ll have more time to make up a plan.” Tsuyu turned to her. “I don’t know Mina, maybe we should wait and see how the teams turn out before we start strategizing.” 

**_“This is going to be rough. You may use your quirks as much as you like, but there are still rules. Make a team fall on purpose, and I’ll slap you with a red card. You'll be disqualified!”_ ** A timer suddenly appeared behind the teacher. **_“Now, you’ve got fifteen minutes to build your teams. I recommend you get started!”_ **

Immediately, you felt a tap on your shoulder and you turned to see the purple haired teen from the week before. You tilted your head in curiosity and smiled at him. “May I help you?” He smirked at you. “Wanna join my team?” You blinked and quirked your lips to the side, staring at him. You shrugged and held out your hand. “Sure, why not? What's-” 

Everything went black.

* * *

Izuku placed a hand on his chin, eyes flicking downwards. ‘It doesn’t matter how many points my team has since I’ve got so many. I just need to make sure I pick the right people.’ He looked up. ‘Okay, I know who I want.’ Izuku glanced around. ‘Just like how I expected; everyone’s sticking to the people in their homeroom class. It’s too much of a gamble to partner with someone if you don’t know what their quirk can do. I need to find a team of my own, and fast. But everyone is totally avoiding me since I’m worth so much..’ He cautiously walked towards Ojiro with a nervous smile on his face. “Oh hey, what’s up Ojiro?” The teen started walking away as soon as he saw him. “Sorry..” Izuku watched him go. ‘That makes sense; no one’s worried about keeping their own headbands the whole game, it’s a better strategy to steal as many points as you can at the end! And unlike Todoroki or Kaachan, I didn’t use my quirk in the first round so no one has any confidence in me!’

“Hey, Deku!” He slowly turned his head. Uraraka stood there with a smile on her face. ”Lets team up!” Tears burst through his eyes. “Uraraka, are you sure?! Everyone will be after me and my ten million stupid points! Tell me you’re not kidding!”

“If we run away the whole, then we’ll win, right?” She smiled at him and the tears stopped. “Um, you’re either overestimating me or underestimating everyone else here..” She punched the air with a determined smile. “*Fooey*! Anyway, it’s better to team up people you like!” Izuku scrunched his face up as his heart squeezed. “Is something wrong? You look so gross!” Izuku turned away and started rubbing an arm against his eyes. “No, I just thought my chest was going to explode for a second.” He wiped the expression away and turned back to the girl. “Actually, I wanted to team up with you, too! Thanks a lot! You’re right; for a game that requires so much teamwork, it’s smart to find people you communicate smoothly with!” He replied while gesturing between them. She nodded at that. “In fact, if we and one other person..You know what, I think I have a solid plan.” Izuku said as he glanced around, eyes scanning the area for a certain someone.

He spotted them and speed walked to him, Uraraka following closely behind. “Iida!” The bigger teen turned around and hummed. Izuku grabbed his arm and gently dragged him a few feet away from other people. “Okay, I’ve got a plan! The three of us will be horses with Iida in the front, using Uraraka’s quirk. Iida and I will be way lighter, so he’d be able to maneuver around really easily; no one could catch us!”

Uraraka smiled and clenched her fists. “Good idea!” Izuku placed his hand on his chin. “The only thing is, we’d still have to find a pretty strong rider. I don’t know who could do it!” He turned to Iida. “I know it’s not much, but it’s the only evasive plan I could think of this fast!” Iida glanced away. “A good strategy, but I’m sorry. I’m afraid I must refuse your offer.” Izuku and Uraraka let out confused noises. “Since this all started, I’ve been losing to you. Please don’t take this as an insult, you’re a great friend.” He adjusted his glasses. “But if I continue to follow you, I’ll never get stronger. Bakugou and Todoroki have challenged you already, but they aren’t the only ones who see you as a rival.” Iida turned and walked away. “Midoriya, I’ll try my best to defeat you.” He said as he returned back to his team.

“Woah, Iida…” Uraraka glanced at Izuku in worry before looking around. Izuku watched as Iida followed Todoroki away. ‘So, it’s already begun. Everyone’s an enemy.’ He glanced around to see almost everyone staring at him with determination. ‘I’m at the top, and they’ll all be coming for me. I can’t rely on anyone. Not this time.’ 

“Oh, perfect, you’re still alone! And you’re the star.” A voice from behind him caught his attention, and both he and Uraraka turned. A girl with pink hair and goggles over her eyes came closer with a huge grin. “Team up with me, person in first place!” Izuku flinched back “You’re so close! Who are you?!” The girl took off her goggles and laughed. “I’m a student in the Support course. Name’s Hatsume Mei!” Uraraka moved closer to her. “Oh! You’re that weirdo from the obstacle course!” Hatsume looked at Izuku. “We haven’t met, but I’d like to use your current fame to my personal advantage!” Izuku flinched. ‘That’s straight forward..’

The girl moved closer to him, making him move away slightly. “If I team up with you, then I’ll be in the spotlight, part of the team EVERYONE is keeping their eyes on!” She moved closer. “That means my super cute babies will inevitably be seen by the big companies CEOs who are tuning into the Sports Festival!” She moved closer with excitement, completely ignoring Izuku’s personal space. “And finally, with that line of reasoning, this is the best way for me and my marvelous gadgets to get recruited!” Uraraka put her hands up. “Could you slow down for a minute? Did you bring babies here, or-I mean..” Hatsume ignored her and continued to talk fast in Izuku’s face.

Suddenly, she dropped to the ground and opened a chest that Izuku had no idea where she got it from. “The Support course specializes in creating equipment that helps Heros still use their quirks and enhance their skills!” Izuku looked closer into the chest. “Muhaha! I packed a ton of powerful babies to bring with me, so I’m sure you’ll find something you like floating around my arsenal! Oh, I see one’s caught your eye!” She picked up a jetpack that Izuku wasn’t actually looking at, but it now did have his attention. “I based this one on a certain Hero’s backpack. Of course, I added my own twists.”

“Wait, I recognize that! Airjet, the *Buster* Hero has one of those!” She laughed. After a minute of gushing about him with Hatsume, Izuku turned around with a determined look. ‘Not being able to team up with Iida was a definite blow. I’ve got Hatsume and Uraraka now, but I still need one more. Looks like pretty much everyone is on a team already,’ He thought as he glanced around. ‘That’s fine; we can work with that. In fact, I know exactly what power our team is missing! And the person who can fill that spot is..’ His eyes widened as he spotted the person he was looking for and started walking towards them. “Where are you going?” Uraraka called after him. Once he reached their side, he placed a hand on their shoulder.

“Join me.”

* * *

The siren blared and Midnight stretched as everyone got ready for the game. **_“Oh goodie, it’s time to get this party started!”_ **

**_“Hey hey! Look alive!”_ ** Present Mic said. **_“After fifteen minutes to pick teammates and talk strategy, twelve cavalry teams are prepared to go head to head!”_ ** Aizawa cut in. **_“I see some unexpected student combinations..”_ **

**_“Come on, everyone get your hands in the air! It’s time for an arena U.A. battle royale! Let me hear you scream!”_ **Izuku tied the headband to his head. Uraraka and Hatsume supported him from behind while Tokoyami activated his quirk, which screeched as loud as it could. “You ready?” Izuku asked. “Yeah!” Uraraka exclaimed. “Hatsume?” She laughed in excitement. “Tokoyami?”

“Yes.” 

“Lets do this!”

**_“Okay, all you first years! I hope you’re happy with your chosen teams! Lets get this party started! One final countdown before the game starts! 3! 2! 1!”_ **

**_“BEGIN!”_ ** Midnight threw her flogger down, and suddenly chaos sprung forth. Almost every single team started running towards Izuku’s team. “Not even giving us a chance, huh?” Tokoyami muttered. “Such is the fate of the pursuit. Make your choice, Midoriya!”

“That’s easy. We’re running away!” Tetsutetsu snorted as his team came closer. “Don’t think so!” His team’s front horse slammed his foot down, and suddenly the ground distorted under them. Izuku’s team started sinking into the ground. “W-What’s happening!” Uraraka yelled. Izuku glanced around at the ground in rising panic. “We’re sinking!” He looked back up at the silver haired teen. “No good, I can’t get out!” The brown haired girl said as she tried tugging her legs out of the ground and Izuku turned to her. “Uraraka, Hatsume, watch your faces!” He yelled as he held up the trigger and pushed the button. The jetpack he was wearing started and they took off in the air, heading towards the other side of the arena. Izuku grunted as they flew, barely able to hear the cries of his peers under him. “He FLEW?! Damn Support course! After them!” Tetsutetsu yelled. 

“Jiro now!” 

“I know!” Dark Shadow suddenly dove and Izuku glanced down to see the black creature block an attack from Jiro. “Stupid bird!” Dark Shadow returned back to the flying group. “Good work,” Tokoyami praised it, “Please continue to watch over our blind spots, Dark Shadow.” 

**“Got it!”** As Dark Shadow twisted itself to look around, Izuku glanced down at him. “Wow, that is seriously cool! Your Shadow is just what we needed! It’ll take care of our *omni* directional mid range defenses! Tokoyami, you’re amazing!” The teen looked away. “You are the one who chose me.” Uraraka called out. “We’re landing!” She quickly swung her legs forward and activated the boots Hatsume gave her. Air quickly shot out of the vents in the shoes and eased their landing. ‘Uraraka’s quirk is awesome! She’s floating everything but her and the equipment!’ They landed with a loud thud. As they started running away from the teams behind them, Hatsume turned to Izuku. “So what do you think of my babies?! Aren’t they just precious? *They can be manufactured*, you know!” He glanced down at her. “Excellent mobility! Your babies are amazing, Hatsume!” 

“Awe, thanks!”

“..I’m the one who’s making us float..”

 **_“Wow, barely two minutes at best since we started and it’s already a total free for all!”_ ** Izuku flinched at that. **_“Yeah! Watch those headbands! You can even ignore the ten million points and go after the other chart toppers!”_ ** Izuku turned as he heard a loud laugh. “Hahahah! This is too easy!” Izuku’s already wide eyes widened further as he spotted Shoji running towards them. “It’s not a fight; it’s more like a massacre!”

“It’s Shoji. Is he all by himself?” Izuku muttered as Tokoyami glanced around. “Where’s his team?”

“What we need is breathing room. We can’t get caught trapped between multiple opponents.” Uraraka started to move, yet a strong tugging force kept her from moving her foot. She glanced down. “Oh no!” Izuku glanced down at her. “What? Is something wrong?”

“Yeah, I’m stuck!” She replied as she continued to try to free herself from the purple ball that suddenly appeared under her foot. “That’s Mineta’s ball! But where did it come from?!”

Izuku glanced around. “From right over here!” Izuku looked back at Shoji and spotted Mineta peeking out from behind Shoji’s arms. “Hi Midoriya!” He laughed lowly as he stared at Izuku. “What?! Is that even allowed?!”

 **_“Judges say yes!”_ ** Midnight replied with a large smile. A tongue appeared beside Mineta, rocketing straight towards Izuku’s head. He dodged it, ducking his head down into his arms. “Impressive moves as usual,” Tsuyu called out. “Awe man,” Izuku muttered in shock, “You’ve got Asui in there, too?” 

“I told you to call me Tsu!” A tongue and a flurry of purple balls shot at him, trying desperately to land on the headband tied to his head. Izuku dodged them with a yelp. Tokoyami shifted. “Quickly! We must move!” As Izuku dodged, he quickly pressed the button that activated the jetpack. The pull from Mineta’s sticky ball kept them in place for a terrifying minute before they shot off with a loud clunk. Izuku winced and glanced back as Hatsume groaned in despair. “Ah! My baby’s ruined!” 

“Sorry! But at least we got away from them!” An explosion boomed from under them and Izuku felt dread creep up his spine. There was only one person in that entire arena with an explosive quirk. He quickly looked down and saw Kaachan flying towards him with a large grin. “Kaachan!” As he got closer, he yelled out and reached to grab the headband. “Don’t think for a second you’re safe!” Uraraka recoiled in shock with a small squeal. “I’ve got you!” Izuku shielded his face with his arm. “Tokoyami!” Dark Shadow suddenly appeared in between them, blocking Kaachan’s attack with a loud roar. The crowd cheered louder. **_“Woah!”_ ** Present Mic screeched in shock. “What the hell?” Kaachan muttered as he started falling. **_“Bakugou has been separated from his horses!”_ ** A strip of tape appeared and wrapped itself around Kaachan’s torso, pulling him back to his team. He landed in Sero’s arms. **_“Is that even allowed?"_ **

**_“He never touched the ground, so technically it’s okay!”_ ** Midnight replied with a thumbs up. Izuku jolted as they landed a bit rougher than before and glanced back at the girl on his left. “Nicely done, Uraraka!” She turned her gaze to him with a frown. “It’s hard to control where we’re going with just one foot!” He nodded and turned back to the front. “I understand.” His gaze traveled the arena for any other close by teams. 'With that busted boot, our movement is limited. We can’t risk taking to the sky again. That means to survive, we’ll have to rely on Tokoyami’s _Dark Shadow_ and our increased mobility thanks to Uraraka’s _Zero Gravity_.'

 **_“As expected, everyone’s after the first place team, giving them no time to catch their breath! What a show this is! Now, who wants to take a look at eight students’ points so far? It’s been seven minutes, so lets get those rankings on the screen!”_ ** Quickly, the crowd above quieted down and murmured in confusion. **_“Hold on here, this is an unexpected turn! Other than Midoriya, Class 1A’s not doing so hot!”_ ** Izuku let out a gasp and turned to the screen. Almost everyone in his class had zero points. **_“Even Bakugou is losing!”_ **Izuku watched with increasing panic and dread as a student grabbed Kaachan’s headband and proceeded to insult him. Soon enough, the angry teen growled out a command to Kirishima with mini explosions popping in his hands. ‘Holy woah..Class 1B had a long term strategy that involved throwing the qualifier. I guess that would help them leave a bigger impression with the audience. Everyone does kinda love an underdog..But, if they’re playing the long game here, they might not even bother coming after my headband at all!’

“Everyone, don’t worry! I think we’re okay!” Tokoyami suddenly skidded to a halt, jolting Izuku in the process. The two girls behind him grunted. Izuku looked up and his eyes widened. **_“And now, we’ve reached the halfway point of the game!”_ ** Izuku breathed out. “I thought we had it made. Guess I was wrong.”

**_“As the Cavalry Battle enters its second half, it’s anyone’s game! Class 1B has made an unexpected showing, but who will win the ten million points in the end? That’s the real question Sports fans!”_ **

Todoroki stared him down with an icy look, eyes trained on Izuku’s headband. “I’ll be taking that now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ^ i totally didn't notice that i made a pun until my sibling pointed it out!
> 
> for any quote that was encased with *, just know that the characters are really bad at pronouncing things. i literally had to go back at least fifty times for one line that Present Mic had said, and i even got my sibling to help me a couple times! so for some of them, i have no idea what they hell they said, so i just put in what made sense in the context that was also close to what they originally said.
> 
> so, i'm finally back with another chapter! i hope you all like it, and if it seems a bit rushed, i'm sorry. i had my sibling proofread it and since they didn't say anything about it, i'm assuming it's fine, but to me it seems kinda rushed in certain areas. 
> 
> and unlike my other chapters, i decided to cut the Sports festival into several different chapters. i know it might be a bit shorter than the previous chapters, but it just felt right to end it where i did. so far, i think this event will span across about three chapters, maybe four if i put in little scenes here and there. 
> 
> also! we kinda saw Aleah's real quirk in action for the first time! you probably won't be able to find it in this chapter, but don't worry! i'm giving you guys another clue in the next one! it'll be a little more clear, but i'm hoping i managed to keep it vague enough so you won't catch on just yet! i might've failed, though..oh well. thank you all for reading, and i'll hopefully see you next week! have a great day/night, and you're all AWESOME! XP


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> * once again, Present Mic is terrible at pronouncing words. 
> 
> i hope you all liked this chapter! for once, i think it's good! also, my sibling, who normally proofreads my stories, stopped halfway through because they were tired and it's super late right now, so i apologize for anything weird looking. i read through this as well, but i tend to miss things often so there might be a few spelling or grammar errors. and my 'c' key is acting weird right now, so again, i apologize if you see a word that is supposed to have the letter in it, but doesn't. i don't know why it's doing that. anyways, have a wonderful day/night and stay safe! you're all AWESOME! XP

Faint yells reached your ears yet didn't register in your brain as you ran. The world around you was fuzzy, and a weird staticky sound rang in your head. Speaking of which, why was it so heavy? It wasn’t like that before, was it? ..No, you’re pretty sure your head’s always been heavy, just like how you’re sure that the world has always been fuzzy and weirdly lit and how there’s always been that weird static..What were you doing again? The static grew louder, and you squeezed your eyes shut, grunting.

_Continue running. Defend your leader. Don’t question anything. Nothing’s wrong._

..Really? Well, okay then. You opened your eyes (when did you close them again?) and continued running, listening to that strange thought you had earlier...Wait, what thought? Your blank eyes roamed the space around you. Despite the action, the information you gained didn’t sink in. It was like it was.. _What are you doing? You should just continue running. Defend your leader. Don’t question anything. Nothing’s wrong._ You furrowed your eyebrows and as you turned back to your task (who gave you a task?), your eyes caught a flash of green. They instantly snapped to the color and you noticed another team with a green haired boy sitting at the top. They were facing off with another team, this one with a white and red haired teen as the rider. They both had their headbands.

“Well, I guess now we REALLY can’t go and get the ten million points.” Who..? _Continue running. Defend your leader. Don’t question anything. Nothing’s wrong._

..Alright.

* * *

“I didn’t think this confrontation would happen until later in the test.” Tokoyami cut into the silence. “He seems to have it out for you, Midoriya.”

“The game’s only halfway over, we can’t stop now!” Izuku shifted and the team prepared to start running. “Now, Iida! Forward!” Todoroki called, and suddenly, with an affirmation from the front horse, they were barreling towards them. “Yaoyorozu! Be ready to protect us! Kaminairi!”

“Oh, I know what I gotta do!” Izuku flinched and glanced around. “Watch our surroundings! It’s not just Todoroki!” He called out as four more teams joined Todoroki with his pursuit of the ten million points. “Everyone’s after us!”

“Hope you made something strong, Yaoyorozu!” Kaminari yelled, his quirk shooting off of him with zapping sounds. Todoroki threw a white blanket over him, Iida, and Yaoyorozu as the only girl on their team created something rocky and long, making it stab into the ground below them. “One point three million volts!” The electricity shooting off of him increased and grew, hitting everyone around him hard. Izuku yelped and Dark Shadow appeared in front of him, growing slightly to protect everyone on his team from the electricity. Todoroki’s team came closer, ice particles starting to form around Todoroki’s right hand. “Less than six minutes left. It’s time to make a move!” He grabbed the rocky thing protruding from Yaoyorozu’s arm. Ice shot down to the tip, where it spread to the ground around them. It froze everyone trying to get to Izuku’s headband.

“Sorry, but there’s no other way!” Todoroki called from over his shoulder.

 **_“Well, would you look at that! He stopped all those teams cold in their tracks!”_ ** Present Mic hummed, and seconds later Aizawa replied. **_“But only after Kaminari had immobilized the students using his electricity. In the obstacle course, he was surprised by how many people avoided his attack. He’s adapting his strategy.”_ **

**_“Nice commentary!”_ **

Todoroki held up stolen headbands from some of the teams behind him. “I might as well take these!” As the teams behind him yelled out their fury, the ice grew until it blocked them from seeing Izuku and Todoroki’s teams. Izuku pressed the button once more, yet it shuddered as smoke came out of it with a small boom. “The jetpack’s malfunctioning!” He cried, soon followed by Hatsume’s despaired cry. “Oh no, they’re too fast!” Uraraka called out, sweat falling down her face. “We can’t get away!”

“Take care of them!” Tokoyami shouted and Dark Shadow sprung forward. Todoroki covered his head with an arm. “Yaoyorozu!” She blocked the shadow’s attack with a large paddle-like object. Izuku bit his lip. “She’s too good at her creation quirk! We have to be careful!” Tokoyami shook his head. “No, Kaminari is the one to fear. If there was any more sunlight, Kaminari’s attack would’ve completely destroyed Dark Shadow.” Izuku gasped.

- _"So, what I want you to do is to devote yourself to defence. I’m hoping you won’t have to attack at all. Sounds good?” Tokoyami let out a hum. “Hmm, interesting.” Izuku’s eyebrows scrunched in confusion as Uraraka paused in attaching the boots to her feet. “My quirk’s offensive ability gets stronger when I’m in darkness, but that makes Dark Shadow aggressive and difficult to control. On the other hand, the beast is easy to handle in the sunlight. That’s at the cost of it’s attack power, though.” He looked up at Izuku. “You couldn’t have known this, and yet you’ve chosen the correct role for me. Your proposal seems like a good one, under the circumstances.” He smiled in amusement._

 _“Very well, I’ll follow your lead. We’re counting on you, Midoriya.”_ -

Izuku’s eyes widened. “I get it. His lightning is our big problem!”

“As long as he keeps using his quirk, it’ll be very difficult for me to attack. Dark Shadow is too timid enough.” Izuku glanced at the shadowy creature in front of them with a shocked look. Dark Shadow sniffled and mumbled. Suddenly, they stopped with a jolt. **_“Team Midoriya has nowhere left to run!”_ ** Izuku turned his gaze behind them with a frown before facing their opponents. “Our attack power is low, but they have no idea that’s the case, right?”

“I don’t think so,” Tokoyami agreed, “The only person I’ve mentioned this weakness to is Koda back at the U.S.J., and he’s a man of very few words.” Izuku narrowed his eyes in thought. “Okay, good deal. We can use that. This’ll work out. All we have to do is to hang onto the ten million points no matter what!”

 **_“Only one minute left! Todoroki has cornered the ten million point team and is poised to steal the ultimate prize! At least that’s what I would’ve predicted five minutes ago!”_ ** Present Mic laughed. **_“Unbelievably, team Midoriya has been able to keep away from the ice master for the last half of the game!”_ ** Todoroki’s team stepped closer, and Izuku’s team stepped back. “Stay back!” Dark Shadow shoved itself between his and Todoroki’s team with a scowl. Izuku felt sweat slowly drip down his face as they stared each other down. Iida suddenly started speaking lowly, yet Izuku’s team was too far away to hear his words. He crouched into a runner’s pose and Izuku heard an engine powering up. Izuku’s eyes widened as they shot forward.

“Watch th-” Izuku felt the headband slip from his head. **_“W-W-What? What just happened? That was *one big blur*! Holy smokes, folks! Why didn’t he show off that super speed in the preliminaries?!”_ ** Izuku’s team turned around in shock. “I told you, Midoriya,” Iida called out as he turned to look at him with a smug grin, “That I’d do my best to beat you!” The crowd cheered. **_“Insanity! This entire game was just turned completely on its head! Todoroki’s team has the ten million points and Midoriya’s team is suddenly left with nothing at all!”_ ** Izuku turned with a yell. “Don’t let them go!”

“Kaminari is still a problem for us!” Tokoyami replied and Dark Shadow whimpered. “It will be smarter for us to try for other points now!”

“We can’t!” Izuku glared at Todoroki with determination flowing through him. “We don’t know who’s got the other headbands, this is our only chance!” Uraraka shifted. “Then lets go!” She started running, causing Hatsume and Tokoyami to run. “We’ll get the points back, Deku! I know it!” Izuku glanced back at her. “Uraraka..”

- _"I’m gonna become a Pro. I’ll sign with a good agency and make plenty of money. Then my parents will have an easy life!”_ -

Izuku turned back around. ‘That’s right.’

- _“I'd like to use your current fame for my personal advantage!”_ -

‘I’m not alone in this.’

 _-"We’re counting on you, Midoriya.”_ -

 _- ~~"Until~~_ ~~ _we meet again,_ Hero _."_~~ -

Izuku felt power surge into his arm and he swung it back. ‘All three of them put their trust in me. This is MY responsibility! We all have our reasons to win this!’ Todoroki’s eyes widened as they drew closer. ‘And I refuse to let the others down!’ Fire ignited on Todoroki’s left arm, and he brought it up to defend his headbands. 

- _”It was the first time I used my power against a person..”_ -

‘This’ll be fine. I'm not actually going to hit him. I’m just slicing through the air to take out my opponent’s defences!’ Izuku reached out, and suddenly swiped his arm to the side, killing the flames before they grew. The force from that caused the air around them to throw Todoroki’s arm to the side. He glanced at it with a shocked look. ‘My hand hurts, but it’s not broken! He’s turned the headbands around to hide the point values, but he put the ten million on last, right?’ He quickly reached out while Todoroki was distracted. ‘So it must be on top!’ He grabbed a headband as his team ran past. ‘I got it!’ Izuku’s team stopped and he turned around. “That’s it. I did it!” The crowd roared. **_“With just a few minutes left, team Midoriya is back in the game!”_ **

“Uh, wait a minute!” Hatsume peered closer at the headband in his hand. “Please tell me I’ve got something wrong with my eyes!” Izuku looked down. The number.. “They tricked us!”

..It was seventy.

“We mixed the headbands up,” Yaoyorozu called out, “There’s no way we’d leave the prize on top! You underestimated us!”

 **_“Oh no! Team Midoriya didn’t get the ten million points after all!”_ ** Izuku glanced at the scoreboard. ‘Only seventy points..That’s not enough!’

 **_“The game is almost over! Time for a countdown!”_ ** The timer beeped loudly as it reached a minute. “Tokoyami!” Dark Shadow shot forward. “Kaminari!” Electricity sparked off of the human pikachu as Todoroki covered the rest of his team with the same blanket from before. It increased once they were safely covered and hit Tokoyami’s quirk. An explosion rocked the arena once more as Kaachan appeared out of nowhere. “Deku!” His team called out for him. “Uraraka!” Izuku yelled. “Lets go!” She screamed and they started running, trying to avoid the flying angry teen and heading for Todoroki’s headbands. “Who’s got the points?!” Kaachan yelled as Todoroki brandished a long staff and froze it. “Damnit, IcyHot!”

Both Kaachan and Izuku’s team barreled towards him.

 ** _“Time’s up!”_** Kaachan fell to the ground with a thud. ** _“And with that, the second half of the game is officially over!”_**

* * *

You blinked as the fog in your head lifted and the blurry world came into focus. ‘..What?’ You glanced around you in confusion. You were still in the arena, so that was good. You felt a pressure on your right hand and left arm. You whipped your head around to see a purple haired boy sitting on top of your and Ojiro’s arms. His bare feet were placed in both your hands and your opposite hands were holding another boy’s shoulders. ‘What just..happened?’ 

“Well, I guess that’s that.” The purple haired teen said as he messed with the headbands around his neck. **_“Now, lets take a look at who our top four teams are!”_ ** Present Mic’s voice boomed across the stadium and you jumped as the boy climbed off of your arms. **_“In first place, team Todoroki! In second place, team Bakugou! In third place, is Tetsutet-wait, what? It’s team Shinsou! When did they come back from the dead?!”_ ** The teen walked off with a smirk. “Thanks for all your help.” You watched him go for a moment before turning to Ojiro. “Did he...just control us?” He shrugged with a weirded out expression. You placed your hand on your chin. “I guess that would explain why I don’t really remember anything…”

 **_“And in fourth place, is team Midoriya! These four lucky teams will advance to the final round! Now, lets take an hour lunch break before we start the afternoon festivities! See you soon! Hey, Eraserhead, lets grab some food.”_ **

**_“I’m taking a nap.”_ **A wave of tiredness hit you and you swayed, yawning. “Jeez, what did he do to us?” You mutter in english. “Hey, you okay?” Ojiro placed a hand on your shoulder. You nodded and started walking away. “I’m going to take a nap. See you later!” You waved to him and looked around. Most of the other students were leaving, and nearby was a huge wall of ice. ‘Todoroki might still be over there. I’m going to go say hi before I pass out.’ You headed over, but instead of seeing your friend, you spotted three of your other classmates and a random girl with gadgets strapped to her body. One of them was on the ground crying loudly. “What the hell..?” You mutter. Once you reached their sides, Uraraka turned to you with a surprised look on her face. “Oh, hey Ale-woah, are you alright?! You look like you’re going to faint!” Midoriya’s tears slowed down as he processed that sentence and Tokoyami turned his attention to you. You waved off her concern. “Don’t worry! I’ll be fine! I guess this is what I get for getting a few hours of sleep and running around like a madwoman all day!” You laughed before you swayed once more. Uraraka let out a yelp as you started to fall, catching you swiftly. Tokoyami watched you with wide eyes as Midoriya leapt forward slightly, arms outstretched like he was going to try and catch you. “Whoops,” Was all you said as you clung to your friend.

“Aleah, are you sure you’re okay?” She asked and you nodded into her shoulder. “Yup, just need some food and a nap. Hey,” You looked up, “Do you guys know where Todoroki is? I wanna congratulate him. Oh, that reminds me! Congratulations guys!” You threw your fist into the air with a slight maniac giggle. “Did you get into the final round, Walker?” Tokoyami asked as Dark Shadow disappeared. You cocked your head to the side. “I’m not exactly sure..Though, I think the rider in my team was named Shinsou.” They nodded and started walking towards the exit, Uraraka half dragging, half carrying you over. There, you spotted Iida waiting for your group. “Iida!” Uraraka called. Your eyes slowly started closing on their own accord as Uraraka conversed with the taller teen. “Iida, you were holding out on us! I had no idea you could do that!”

“Rest assured it wasn’t my intention to deceive you, I was just being strategic!” Iida replied as he waved a robotic arm. “I simply wanted to show I could compete with Midoriya!” Uraraka adjusted her grip on you. “You’re always trying to one up each other!” You yawned loudly. “Walker?” Iida peered closer to you in worry. “Are you alright?”

“Sleeeep.” You mumbled into Uraraka’s shoulder as she started dragging you away. The boy behind you followed as she laughed. “You can’t sleep until you eat!” You groaned. “But, sleeep!”

“You need to eat first!” Uraraka said and Iida nodded. “Yes, it is important that you eat before the afternoon festivities! You might pass out, otherwise!”

“I might pass out if I don’t SLEEP.”

Uraraka looked around. “Huh? Where’d he go? Has anyone seen Deku?” You shrugged before you closed your eyes, ignoring Iida’s attempts at stopping you. Soon, you fell asleep.

* * *

Izuku swallowed nervously as Todoroki stared at him. The silence between them was heavy, almost suffocatingly. “..You brought me here. Now what?” He murmured quietly. Todoroki continued to glare at him. “..We should probably eat soon! The cafeteria is gonna be busy...Don’t you think?” Todoroki continued to say nothing. Izuku gulped. ‘He’s all cold intimidation. Way different from Kaachan.’

“I was overwhelmed, and it made me break my promise I made to myself a long time ago.” Izuku glanced down at Todoroki’s left arm. ‘It would have given him such an advantage if he used his left side..And yet, he didn’t.’ Todoroki removed his left hand from his pocket and looked at it. “Iida and Kaminari, Yaoyorozu and Tokoyami, Uraraka; none of them felt it. In that moment, I was the only one who could sense your true power.” Oh no. That’s not good. “It reminded me of something; experiencing All Might’s quirk.” Izuku stared at him with a nervous expression. “Oh yeah? Okay..Is that all?”

“I’m saying the power coming from you felt the same as All Might’s. Midoriya, tell me,” He glanced up at him as he lowered his arm, “Are you really All Might’s secret love child or something?” 

..’Am I..WHAT?!’

- _”I’ve seen it. You’ve got All Might in your corner helping you out.”_ -

Izuku stared at him in shock and confusion. ‘Okay, I get why he’d think that, as insane as it sounds..’

“Well, are you?”

“No! No way! That’s not it at all! But I guess even if I was, I’d totally say I wasn’t, so you probably wouldn’t believe me no matter what, I bet!” Izuku rambled. “Anyway, I promise, you’ve got the wrong idea! And,” He stopped nervously moving his hands around and hesitantly looked at the teen before him, “Why would you even think that about me?”

“‘That’s not it at all’ is interesting wording. It suggests there is something between you two that you’re not supposed to talk about.” Izuku gasped inaudibly and glanced away. Todoroki closed his eyes. “My father is the Hero Endeavour. You must’ve heard about him, which means you’re aware that he’s the Number Two Hero.” He opened his eyes and stared at him. “So if you’re connected to the Number One Hero, All Might, in some way, that would mean I have even more reason to beat you.” Izuku stared at him in shock. “My old man is ambitious; he aims for the top. He used his power to make a name for himself as a Hero, but he was never able to best All Might, so the Symbol of Peace is living proof of his failure. He’s still at it though, trying to take down All Might, one way or another.”

“I-I’m not really sure what you’re getting at..What are you trying to tell me, Todoroki?” The teen before him glanced away before facing him once more. “..Have you ever heard of Quirk Marriages? They became a problem in the first few generations after superpowers became widespread. There were those who sought out potential mates solely for the intention of creating powerful children. Many people were forced into relationships. They were simply viewed as old-fashioned arranged marriages, but clearly it was unethical. My father not only has a rich history of accomplishments, but plenty of money to throw at his problems. He bought my mother’s relative to get his hands on her quirk and now he’s raising me to usurp All Might.” Izuku gasped softly. “It’s so annoying,” Todoroki glared at the ground, “I refuse to be a tool for that scumbag. In every memory of my mother, I only see her crying.” He raised his left hand to his face, touching the scar covering his left eye. “I remember she called my left side unbearable before she poured boiling water on my face.” Izuku gasped and his hand twitched upwards to cover his mouth, but it stopped in his shock.

“The reason I picked a fight with you was to show my old man what I was capable of doing without having to rely on his damn fire quirk.” He removed his hand from his face. “You see? I’m going to show him that I reject his power, and that I can take first place without using it.”

A moment of silence spread between them, and Izuku glanced at the ground. ‘The life he’s led is so different than mine. It sounds terrifying. How strange that we could be aiming for the same thing despite such different childhoods.’ Todoroki started walking away and Izuku watched him leave. “You’re obviously connected to All Might, even if you won’t tell me about it. But no matter how fiercely you come at me in the future, I will defeat you using only my right side. I can assure you of that.” Izuku gulped and frowned at his back. ‘So this is why Todoroki is so focused. He’s like a comic book character; a hero with a tragic backstory, fighting to rise above it.’ Izuku hesitated and then jogged after him. “Hey, wait!” Todoroki paused and Izuku stopped a few yards away. “I’m only here because others have supported me. I’ve been really lucky.” Izuku glanced down at his hand as he brought it up. “In fact, I’ve had even more help since I’ve come to U.A.”

- _“Have no fear, you are safe. I am here.”_ -

- _“Can’t you just give him some of my points?”_ -

- _“I’ll support you with everything I’ve got!”_ -

- _“You can’t become a Hero if you only have one trick.”_ -

- _“I guess we pass the shipwreck zone.”_ -

- _“Get the hell out of my way,_ _Deku!_ ”-

- _“Team up with me, person in first place!”_ -

- _“It was around his head where his guard was the weakest.”_ -

 _-“Young man, you too can become a Hero.”_ -

- ~~ _"I think you'll be a great Hero someday."_~~ -

Izuku clenched his hand into a fist. “All Might is constantly saving people with a fearless smile. He’s the greatest Hero, and I want to be just like him.” The wind picked up around them, picking up stray leaves. “In order to do that, I have to be strong enough to become Number One.” Todoroki turned and stared at him and Izuku looked up. “I know my motivation might seem stupid compared to yours, but still, I can’t lose this either. I owe it to everyone who’s supported me to try my best. You’ve declared war on me earlier, well, right back at you.” He tightened his fist. “I am going to beat you!” Izuku met Todoroki’s steely gaze with his own determined one. After a moment, Todoroki turned away and started walking and Izuku slowly lowered his hand as he watched him go.

* * *

**_“Get those *spark lighters* in the air, it’s almost time for the last round! But before that, good news for everyone who didn’t make it to the finals! Since this is a Sports Festival, we prepared some super fun side games everyone can participate in! We even brought cheerleaders from America to get your blood pumping! Hold up-”_ **

**_“What are they doing?”_ **

You stretched, yawning as the students around you stared at you and your female classmates. Your classmates all wore the same blank look of humiliation. You shifted uncomfortably in your new cheerleader uniform, your grip on your pom poms tightening. **_“Looks like Class 1A is going full on fanservice!”_ ** ..Wait, what? 

Your eyes snapped open and flicked around the stadium, looking for a certain someone. “WHAT?! YOU TRICKED US?!” Momo yelled as Mineta and Kaminari gave each other a thumbs up. You closed your eyes and inhaled slowly. “YOU’RE GONNA REGRET THIS!” Momo fell to the floor with a huge sigh. “Why is it that I always end up falling for that little pervert’s stupid schemes?” Uraraka knelt next to her and patted her back as you slowly exhaled. “I even used my quirk to make these outfits..” Jiro threw down her pom poms. “Ugh, I hate those guys!” You started walking over to the two boys, Innocence quickly activating. “Well, we do have a little time before the finals start, and I kinda like these uniforms, so how about we roll with it?!” You heard Hagakure yell.

“Are you crazy?!”

You threw the pom poms down and with a smile, you raised your leg. **_“Uh, what is she doing..? Wait, uh oh.”_ **You slammed your foot on Mineta’s head, forcing him to the ground. Kaminari flinched away as all eyes landed on you. You turned to him with the same smile as he started to back away. “Kaminari!” You sang as you followed him, almost skipping. “You better get back here, Kaminari!” The blond teen took a step back before he started running away, yelling. You leapt after him, twisting until your foot caught on the side of his face, sending him to the ground. You landed and huffed out a breath, glaring down at the two perverts of the class with a shake of your head.

 **_“Now that has got to be a painful way to go down…”_ ** Present Mic said. You snorted and turned away, picking up the yellow pom poms and heading to the other girls with your arms swinging by your sides. **_“..How about we get started?”_ ** The Pro Hero nervously laughed as the crowd of students gathered around Midnight’s stage, glancing at you in shock before turning away as you met their gazes. You glanced to the front of the crowd to Midoriya, and the boy quickly turned around with a flinch. You huffed out a quiet laugh as your brain registered the quick glance of the slight awe in his eyes and the blush coating his cheeks. _**“So, the sixteen students from the Cavalry teams will be duking it out one on one in a tournament style fighting competition! I’m *proud to say* that you’re not gonna want to miss these epic match ups!”** _

“Aw yeah,” Kirishima grinned as he looked for his name on the screen, “Finally getting the chance to show what we’re made of! I watched these finals every year and now I’m actually in them!” You heard a groan of pain behind you and you glanced back. Kaminari and Mineta groaned as they slowly joined the rest of the first years. A smile tugged at your lips and you turned back.

“So wait,” Mina turned to the redhead, “Is it always a tournament?”

“The finals are always a one on one competition, but they switch it up everytime!” Sero replied. “Last year, it was a foam sword fighting match!”

 **_“Come closer and draw lots to see who you’re up against!”_ ** Midnight called as she picked up a dark yellow box. **_“Then enjoy the pleasure of the recreational games before we start! The sixteen finalists have the option to participate in those activities or sitting out to prepare for battle. I’m sure you all want to conserve your stamina! I’ll start with the first place team!”_ ** Ojiro quickly raised his hand. “Um, excuse me?” Everyone turned to look at him as he gazed at the ground. “Sorry, but I’m withdrawing.” Gasps were heard around you and you blinked, twisting your face up in confusion. “Ojiro, no way!” Midoriya mumbled as Iida took a step closer to him. “But this is a rare chance for you to get scouted!” Ojiro lowered his hand. “It just wouldn’t be right. I barely remember anything from the Cavalry battle until the very end of it.” You glanced away and quirked your lips to the side. “I..think it was that guy’s quirk.” You looked up at the purple haired kid briefly. “I know this is a great opportunity. I wish I could take advantage of it, but my conscious won’t let me.”

‘..Should I join him? But, Aizawa and Present Mic wanted me to have fun..What should I do?’

“Just think about this,” Midoriya replied, but Ojiro sighed. “I have, okay? Everyone gave their all in Round Two, but I was just someone’s puppet. No way. I don’t want to advance if I don’t know how I got here. It wouldn’t be fair.” Hagakure waved her pom poms around frantically. “You’re making way too much of this! Just kill it in the finals and prove you should be here!”

“Yeah, what she said!” Mina added on. “I didn’t do much in the battle either.” You glanced up as Ojiro placed a hand over his eyes. “That’s not it. I’m talking about my pride here. I refuse to give that up.” You nodded and started walking over to him. “..Also, why are all the girls dressed like cheerleaders?” You snorted out a laugh as you placed a hand on his shoulder, but before you could say anything, another student walked up, the other boy that was on your team. “Shoda Nirengeki, from Class 1B,” He stepped closer to the stage, “I think I should withdraw for the exact same reason, regardless of how strong I am. This isn’t how I wanted to get here. It would go against the values of the festival to advance without earning my spot!” Kirishima clenched his hands into fists, holding back tears. “Listen to these guys, they’re so manly!”

**_“Well now, here’s another weird turn of events.”_ **

**_“We’ll have to see what Midnight has to say about all of this; she’s the one in charge.”_ **

A moment of silence stretched between the students as Midnight regarded the two boys. **_“This sort of talk is incredibly naive, my boys,”_ ** She raised her flogger and whipped it to the side, **_“That turns me on! Shoda, Ojiro! You’re withdrawn!”_ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** “DID SHE SAY IT TURNS HER ON?!”

You patted Ojiro’s shoulder, gaining his lost attention. “Well, we respect your decision,” You say as you move your gaze to Shoda, “No matter how we don’t like it.” You removed your hand from his shoulder and backed away. ‘It’s probably too late for me to be withdrawn,’ You thought as you glanced up at the announcer’s box. 

**_“Now lets see, we’ll have to move up two students from the fifth place cavalry team so we have enough contestants.”_ ** **_  
_** **_  
_** “We were frozen most of the time, honestly, we barely did anything in the Cavalry battle,” Another girl turned to look at her teammates, “Isn’t that right? Girls?” The girls standing next to her nodded their agreement. She turned back to Midnight. “You should choose from the group that kept fighting the whole time, team Tetsutetsu!” Tetsutetsu stared at her in shock. “Kendo!” Kendo turned to him. “I’m not doing this as a favor, it’s just fair.”

“..Seriously, you guys..Thank you!” Tetsutetsu clenched his hands into tight fists.

* * *

 **_“And so, Tetsutetsu and Shiozaki will advance to the final! Take a look at the *brackets*, my dears! These are your opponents!”_ ** The crowd cheered as you and the rest of the finalists glanced over the large screen behind her. You blinked. “Wait, I’m fighting Mina?” The girl in question gasped and hugged you. “Yes! I get to fight you! Give it your all, Aleah!” You chuckled and patted her arm. “You, too!”

“SERIOUSLY?!” You jumped and turned to look at Kirishima and Tetsutetsu. “HOW DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?!” You followed their gazes to the screen and let out a loud, disbelieving string of laughs. They were paired up against each other. Your eyes continued to read the names. “Looks like Tokoyami and Momo are fighting each other, and Sero is going up against Todoroki.” Your eyes widened and you gasped. “Strawberry’s opponent is Shinso?! Oh shit!” You glanced around the arena and quickly spotted Midoriya near the purple haired teen. You slipped out of Mina’s hold, ignoring her worried cries, and jogged over to them. Suddenly, Ojiro wrapped his tail around Midoriya’s mouth, preventing him from speaking. You breathed out a sigh of relief and stopped nearby. “Not so fast.” The blond teen glared at Shinso as Midoriya gave him a confused look.

Shinso chuckled and started to walk away. As he passed by you, your eyes met, and he quickly glanced away with what looked like..guilt? You watched him go as you slowly walked towards Ojiro and Midoriya. 

“Ojiro, what’s the deal?” Midoriya asked as he was freed from Ojiro’s tail. You rubbed your arms as you looked back at him. “You didn’t answer him, did you?” Ojiro shook his head. “I made sure he didn’t.” You nodded and sighed, placing a hand over your heart. “That’s good..” Midoriya glanced between you. “Guys? What’s wrong?”  
  
“You can’t say a word to him,” Ojiro replied. Midoriya let out a confused sound and you quickly linked your arm with his. He blushed as you led him out of the arena with Ojiro right behind you. **_“Okay, lets press pause for a momentary interlude! Before the battles begin, it’s time for some *gold-spouting* side games! First, how about a scavenger hunt!”_ ** You looked around as everyone started running around with determination. You entered a hallway leading to the arena to escape the fast paced teenagers and looked at Midoriya worryingly. “Come on, this way!” Ojiro took the lead and brought you to an empty waiting room and sat down. You dragged Midoriya over and sat him down before taking your place next to him. Ojiro cleared his throat and leaned closer to Midoriya. “Okay, lets start."

* * *

 **_“Thank you, Cementoss!”_ ** Izuku jumped and clenched his hand into a fist, closing his eyes to calm himself. **_“Hey Sports fans! Are you ready? After all the action you’ve already witnessed, it’s time for the real battles to begin! Can you feel the excitement? Our competitors are on their own now! Sometimes Heros have only themselves to rely on! Heart, skill, strength, wisdom, courage; they’ll have to use all of these things to rise to the top!”_ **

“Hey!” Izuku’s eyes shot open and he turned around. All MIght waved as he walked towards him in his smaller form. “Sorry I haven’t said ‘hi’! You’ve been great! You harnessed _One for All_ .” He gave the teen a thumbs up and a smile. “No, not really,” Izuku mumbled in response and lowered his gaze, “I’m still worried about using it. I imagined the egg in the microwave, or how it felt to hit that villain, but I’m still not in control.” A memory of hitting the giant bird-like villain flashed through his mind before disappearing back into whatever corner it was hiding in. “It feels so unpredictable, like I might be ripped apart if I’m not completely focused. Besides,” He lowered his arm, “I’m still not ready to fully wield it, I can tell. Even after so much training, my body is weak; it just can’t handle your power at one hundred percent.”  
  
“Yeah,” All Might placed a hand on his chin, “If we’re talking about how much of _One for All_ you’d be able to use at this point, I’d say my closest guess would be about five percent or so.”

“What?! Only five percent?!” Izuku deflated. “Wow, okay. I guess I really have only been getting by because of luck and my friends helping me out..” Suddenly, a hand hit the side of his neck and another hit the top of his head gently, but with a little force behind it. “All I want to hear you say is that you’ll do your best, dammit! There’s no such thing as luck!” Izuku rubbed his neck with a slightly pained expression. “You’ll never become the Hero you want if you believe in something like that. Listen,” Izuku glanced up with a small groan as All Might shifted to his bigger form in a burst of steam, “Whenever you’re scared or nervous about a fight, just try and deal with it by smiling!” He said as he gave the teen an encouraging thumbs up. “You’ve made it this far kid, even if you’re worried, you must stand tall!” He placed his hands on his hips. “Don’t forget that I’m counting on you, and cheering you on!” Izuku nodded with a nervous smile and turned back to the arena. 

**_“Alright, audience! Lets cut to the good stuff and not delay these finals any longer! Welcome our first fighters!”_ ** Izuku started walking out, leaving All Might to watch the match. **_“Woah, he looks kinda scared in that picture, doesn’t he? It’s Midoriya Izuku from the Hero course versus Shinso Hitoshi from General Studies, who really hasn’t done anything to stand out yet! The rules are simple, immobilize your opponent or force them out of the ring!”_ ** Izuku climbed the stairs and started walking to the center of the mini arena that Cementoss made. **_“You can also win by getting the other person to cry uncle!”_ ** Izuku stopped a few yards away from Shinso and started stretching his fingers with a determined expression while Shinso rubbed his neck. **_“Bring on the injuries, cause we’ve got our very own Recovery Girl waiting on standby! So put your morals aside and don’t be afraid to play dirty! But of course, still life threatening blows are not allowed! Real Heros use their powers to throw villains in jail, not kill them!”_ **

Cementoss sat down in a stone chair he made and raised his hand slightly. **_“I’ll stop anyone who tries to get too rough.”_ ** Izuku breathed in and exhaled, closing his eyes to calm his nerves. “So you can just give up, huh?” Izuku opened his eyes and gave Shinso a confused look. “In a way, this is a test of how strong your spirit is. If you know what you want your future to hold for you, you can’t worry about what other people think.” Shinso stared coldly into his eyes. **_“Ready?”_ ** The buzzer sounded. “That monkey was going on about his pride earlier, but I just think he’s an idiot for throwing away his chance like that.”

**_“Begin!”_ **

Izuku gasped softly in shock before growling. That was his friend Shinso was talking about, and there was no way Izuku was going to let him get away with insulting him. He marched forward, slowly shifting into a run, intending to do, well, something. He wasn’t quite sure what he was going to do. “Don’t you talk about him that way-” The world went black for a moment, and when he could see again, the world was fuzzy and too bright. His body froze as yells around him rang out. What..was happening? His head was suddenly heavy, and a weird staticky sound grew louder until he could barely hear anything. Something was..wrong.

 _Nothing’s wrong._ “So here we are, you’re lucky to have been so blessed, Midoriya Izuku.” What..is going on? “Now turn around and walk out of bounds like a good little Hero.” _Turn around, turn around, turn around. Get out of bounds, yes. Good. Continue walking. Get out of bounds, get out of bounds, get out of bounds. Keep going._ ‘What’s happening? My body’s moving on it’s own. It feels like my brain’s full of fog. I can’t concentrate. No! Not like this! Gotta..stop! Dammit, I fell for it even after Ojiro and Walker warned me about his power! I’m an idiot. This is all my fault!’ 

- _Izuku gulped. ”So his quirk is that he can control other people?” He glanced between Ojiro and Walker. “Can I beat something like that?” Walker shrugged as Ojiro nodded. “Yes. By not giving him the chance to use it. He didn’t get into my head until I answered a question he asked me before the second round. I think that’s the secret behind his power.” Walker hummed and placed her chin in her hands, biting her lower lip. Izuku followed her lead and leaned his forehead on his hands, staring at the table beneath them. “So I have to be careful not to say anything or I’ll lose for sure.”_

_“Not exactly,” Ojiro replied. Both he and Walker returned their gazes back to him, “Even if he gets you, there’s still a chance.” Ojiro stared at the table with a serious expression before looking up. “For Round Two, I don’t remember anything at all except for the very end of the battle. I think we were running away after Shinso took Tetsutetsu’s headband. I bumped into another person, and it was like I woke up. I was me again,” The tailed teen raised his arm and looked down at his hand, “And suddenly, I was able to think clearly.”_

_“So that bump broke his hold?” Izuku asked as Walker shifted besides him. “Maybe, it’s only a guess.”_

_“But the problem is that Midoriya won’t be able to bump into anyone,” Walker replied as she played with her pom poms. Both boys turned to her, “No one besides him, Shinso, and the teachers will be down there, and they’ll be outside the ring.” She met their gazes. “If Strawberry falls for whatever bait Shinso throws at him, what will save him? Will he be able to snap himself out of it by hurting himself somehow, or will he stay a puppet until Shinso forces him out of the ring? Either way,” She turned her gaze to Izuku solely, “You need to be extra careful on how you go into this fight, Midoriya. No one will be able to help you when you slip, and then you’ll lose.” With that, she stood up and started for the door. Ojiro and Izuku watched her go. She stopped by the door and glanced back with a worried smile. “Good luck, Strawberry,” Then she was gone, and Izuku suddenly felt something familiar grab onto his whole body. It was like some sort of cloud clung to him, protecting him from anything bad. It felt sort of empowering, like it was giving him strength to fight the toughest battle he’s ever faced...It was..weird. He rubbed his arms a little. He felt this earlier, didn’t he?_

_Ojiro sighed and stood up as well, Izuku scrambling to follow him. “Anyway man, I hope that’s helpful, because that’s all I know.” Izuku smiled at him. “Thank you so much! You’re a good guy, Ojiro!” Ojiro looked down at his fist. “I know this sounds selfish, but I’ll say it anyway,” He moved both his gaze and his fist to Izuku, holding out his fist for a fistbump, “Beat this guy for you and me, alright?”_

_“I’ll do my best.” He bumped his own fist into Ojiro’s._ -

‘I can’t stop it. I’m going to lose..It’s all over. Even though so many people are counting on me. Everyone is watching. Everyone.’

Wait, what was that..? Izuku stared listlessly ahead with a blank expression. Something was..in front of him. _Ignore it, keep walking. You’re almost there..._ No, he can’t ignore it. Eight balls of colorful light shown in the dark hallway ahead of him, growing brighter the longer he stared at them. _Keep moving._ They transformed into eight shadowy beings, all with yellow eyes staring straight at him. Something..shifted deep inside of him, and he suddenly felt power rush to two of his left fingers in a split second. ‘What..is..that?’ He felt his fingers move on their own. ‘Wait..’ _Keep moving, you’re almost there._

“Even with a quirk like this, I have my own dreams of becoming a great Hero. So, lose, for me.” Izuku watched from far away as his foot moved over the white line, and time seemed to slow down as he started to place his foot on the ring border. His fingers snapped quickly, breaking with an immense force and a wind whiplash lashed out, knocking everyone in the stands to the backs of their seats and Shinso back a few steps. Izuku stumbled away from the white line and gasped, panting heavily as he took control of his own body and pain shot up his arm. **_“What’s this? Midoriya stopped just in time!”_ ** The crowd cheered loudly, and a few words made it to his ears. He slowly looked up to where the rest of his classmates were sitting, and he noticed that you and Uraraka were jumping up down, screaming at the top of your lungs as you clapped hands with the other. Ojiro had his hands in his hair, but utter relief spread across his features. “HE BROKE IT, HE BROKE IT!” You screamed loudly. I zuku heaved in a few big breaths before looking over his shoulder. Shinso stared at him in shock. “No, impossible..” He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. “You’re not supposed to be able to fight back. What did you do?!” Izuku quickly placed a hand over his mouth both in shock and to prevent him from answering. ‘I’m the one who used _One for All_ , but I’m not the one who moved my fingers just now!’ The image of those shadowy beings flashed through his mind. ‘It was like, people I didn’t know came into my mind, and for a second, it was clear. Could it be-’

- _“_ One for All _, a sacred torch that has been passed on from person to person.”_ -

‘Those people, were they the ones who cultivated this power?’ He glanced down at his broken fingers. ‘Did they save me? Is that even possible?’

“How’d you do that?!” Izuku grunted and placed his other hand over his wrist and shook his head. ‘Later, I don’t have time to figure things out right now! I have to focus!’ He turned around to face Shinso. They stared at each other, one with a frustrated but determined look and the other with pure determination and pain shining in his eyes. “Come on, say something.” Izuku stayed quiet. “I didn’t know you had so much power in your fingers, I’m kinda jealous of you.” Izuku started running towards him. ‘I know what that jealousy feels like. I’ve been there.’

“Thanks to the way my quirk works, I’ve always been at a big disadvantage, but someone as blessed as you wouldn’t understand that!”

‘I get it, even though he’s right; I have been blessed.’

“You’re lucky enough to have a heroic quirk! It’ll be so easy for you to reach your goal!”

‘I’ve been blessed by others!’ Izuku slammed his arms into Shinso’s shoulders, pushing him back. ‘That’s why I’m here!’ He continued pushing, forcing him to step back with each step Izuku took. “Say something, dammit!” Shinso raised his arm and punched Izuku in the face, forcing his head to the side, yet he still didn’t react and continued pushing. ‘I can’t lose this! I’ll do it for them!’ Shinso suddenly punched Izuku’s broken fingers, and he grunted in pain and the bigger teen grabbed his wrist and threw him to the side, moving out of the way to let Izuku fall. “You’ve gotta be kidding me?!” Izuku glanced back in time for Shinso to shove his hand into his face, pushing with all his might. “Get out of this ring, you lucky brat!” Izuku grabbed his arm with his left hand as Shinso grabbed his collar, and with his fingers breaking even more and a pained yell, Izuku slammed his foot into the ground, about a yard away from the line. He threw Shinso’s body over his shoulder and let him slam into the ground on his backside. ‘No, I refuse to let this be the end!’ Shinso’s feet lay over the boundary line.

 ** _“Shinso is out of bounds! Midoriya advances to the next match!”_** The crowd cheered loudly as Izuku panted heavily. Izuku watched as Shinso’s eyes slowly opened and he gazed at the sky with an angry look. **_“And with that *epic throwdown*, we have our first victim of the finals! Class 1A’s Midoriya Izuku!”_**

* * *

 **_“Aw yeah! That was actually a bit of a boring first match, kids, but both of you fought bravely!”_ ** Izuku bowed to Shinso, holding his wrist protectively. **_“Let's show them some love, everyone!”_ ** Izuku stared at the ground as Shinso’s words echoed back to him. He glanced up at the teen. “Why do you want to be a Hero? What’s driving you?” He asked quietly. Shinso turned his face to the side and started walking away. “You can’t help the things your heart longs for.” Izuku took in a shaky gulp of air. ‘I felt the same way, before I inherited _One for All_. I was just like him,’ Izuku thought as he watched Shinso’s retreating form walk down the stairs. ‘But, nothing I say is going to make him feel better.’

As Shinso reached the dark hallway leading out of the stadium, a voice called out from above. “You were awesome out there, Shinso!” Izuku and Shinso looked up. Shinso’s classmates were smiling down at him with pride and excitement in their eyes. “We’re proud of you!” One girl called out as she waved. “You didn’t tell us you were that good!” Another kid chimed in, barely able to peer over the ledge. “Yeah, you’re the star of our program!”

“I can’t believe you put up such a great fight against the dude who was in first place earlier!” One student gestured behind them. “Listen to them!” Shinso’s attention was stolen by the Heros occupying the stands behind them as they discussed among themselves. “Shinso, you hear that? It’s great! They think you’re incredible!” Shinsou paused as he stared at his classmates and the Heros behind them. “..Depending on the results, they might transfer people into the Hero course. Remember that. Even if it didn’t work out this time, I’m not giving up. I’ll get on the Hero track, get certified. And then, I’ll become a better Pro than any of you!” Izuku nodded and the world went black again before coming back a moment later. It was fuzzy and too bright, and instantly Izuku knew Shinso used his quirk once more. ‘He got me again! Why? The match is over!’ 

Izuku watched as a fuzzy looking Shinso laughed quietly. “You know, usually people tense up when they talk to me,” Shinso looked over his shoulder with a small, amused smile, “If you’re not on guard, someone’s going to defeat you. So be careful.” And suddenly Izuku had full control of his body again. “You better not lose and make me look bad!” Izuku shifted slightly. ‘Shinso..’

“I won’t!” His control was snatched out of his mental hands yet again.

* * *

You hummed as you skipped to Recovery Girl’s temporary office. The door, which was a few yards away, quickly opened and out stepped Midoriya. “You’re right! Thank you both very much!” You smiled widely, eyes crinkling at the corners as Midoriya bowed to whoever was in the room. “You’re welcome!”

“Goodbye!” He closed the door and turned to you, however he still didn’t notice you as he gazed at the door. “Midoriya!” You called and jogged over to him as he jumped, whipping his gaze around to you. You threw your arms around his neck and he flinched, yet slowly let his arms wrap around you. “Don’t ever scare us like that again, Strawberry! I thought for sure Shinso was going to win!” You whined and squeezed him, and he chuckled nervously in response. “S-Sorry, I didn’t mean to l-let him get a hold of me..” You pulled back and gazed into his wide eyes with a scolding scowl. “I know that you care about your friends a lot, and I think that’s great, but you need to get a hold on your emotions. It’s kinda dangerous for you if you don’t control your emotions on the battlefield, especially since you have such a powerful quirk.” He avoided your hard gaze and slowly nodded. “S-Sorry.” Your expression softened and your mouth slid into a smile once more.

As you removed your arms from around his neck, you tapped his forehead gently to gain his attention. “There’s nothing to be sorry about, just try to remember that next time, okay?” He shakily nodded at you and smiled. You grabbed his hand and turned around. “Now come on! Todoroki’s match is starting soon, and I don’t want to miss any of it!” You say and started running, dragging Midoriya behind you. He let out a yelp as you raced away, turning corners quickly so that you could make it on time. You didn’t see the awed look Midoriya was giving you as he tried to adjust to your fast pace.

Thankfully, you managed to reach your seats just in time, and Midoriya sat down next to you as Todoroki and Sero walked out to the arena. “Hey Deku!” Uraraka greeted him from his other side and he replied. You watched him interact with your other classmates and bounced in your seat. “E-Excited?” Midoriya asked, turning to you, and you nodded. “Yup! I hope Todo wins! Actually, I think he will win. His quirk is a lot more powerful than Sero’s, so I doubt this’ll be long.” Midoriya nodded before frantically searching for something. You glanced over at him in confusion and a bit of concern. “Something..wrong?” 

“Ah, no, I’m just looking for my notebook!” He replied and let out a triumphed noise. He held up a battered notebook and a pencil that you have no idea where he got it from. “I-I like to take notes on others’ quirks, strategies, and fighting styles.” You nodded and moved closer to peer at it. “Ohh, can I see it some time? Did you put me in there yet?” He nodded and moved to open it. “I was actually hoping to ask some questions about your quirk-” Present Mic swiftly cut him off and your eyes whipped back to the arena, unwilling to miss a single detail. **_“And now, for the second match of the finals! Ready?”_ ** You leaned forward with a huge smile on your face, ready to start cheering for your friend. **_“Begin!”_ ** Tape suddenly shot out of Sero’s huge elbows, quickly wrapping itself around Todoroki’s body. Sero twisted his body and swung Todoroki to the side, hoping to swing him out of bounds. You gasped. “Damn, he’s fast!” Midoriya nodded in agreement. Suddenly, ice shot out from Todoroki’s right foot, stopping him from leaving the arena. You watched in growing shock as the ice quickly traveled to Sero, climbing up his body. The ice continued to grow until a giant iceberg appeared, leaving only Sero’s face and arms free with a loud, thunderous crack. You leaned back with a gasp as an ice spike stopped an inch away from your nose and your classmates followed suit. **_“Tell the truth, Sero. Can you move at all?”_ ** Midnight asked in a dead voice. You barely heard the black haired teen’s answer. “A-A-Are yo-you kidding, obviously n-n-no-not! M-My body is freezing!”  
  
 **_“Sero has been immobilized! Todoroki advances to the second round!”_ ** You shivered as the sudden drop in the temperature of the air finally hit you and you felt your blood speed up to try and warm you up. You quickly rubbed your arms and leaned against Midoriya, trying to preserve body heat with those closest to you. The crowd shouted out reassurances to Sero, and you scrunched your nose. “I-If I-I was h-him, I wouldn’t l-li-like the fact th-that they’re sho-shouting ‘Nice t-try’ at me,” You mumbled. The iceberg slowly melted away as Todoroki used his fire on it. You stared at him in worry. After a moment, you shook your head and stood, quickly gaining the attention of your classmates. “W-Well, I might as well get ready for my fight!” You chirp and walk away, waving at your three friends. 

“Oh, well, good luck, Aleah!” Uraraka called out with Midoriya spouting out a similar phrase. Iida nodded at you as you left, quickly skipping away to an empty waiting room. Once you closed the door, you slid your heels off and started stretching, trying to loosen up your muscles as best as you could before your match. As you stretched your side muscles, your mind flashed back to Todoroki’s fight and you bit your lip.

‘Todoroki, what happened?’


	8. Chapter 7 *TRIGGER WARNING?*

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> um so, there's going to be some bad stuff happening to the Reader near the end, so be warned! i'm not quite sure if that could trigger some people, but just in case, i'm giving you guys a warning!
> 
> song: Mama Mia (He's Italiano) by Elena feat. Glance

**_“We’re gonna charge right along to the fifth match!”_ ** Present Mic announced as you and Mina entered the arena.  **_“Don’t be fooled folks! Despite her cute exterior and gentle personality, this rose certainly has some sharp thorns! It’s Walker Aleah from the Hero course, versus..is there some kind of purpose for those things sticking out of her head? From the same class, Ashido Mina!”_ ** You sighed with a small smile as you watched Mina stretch a little, a bit curious why he compared you to a flower. Mina giggled with a grin. You slid off your heels and left them outside the ring; you really didn’t want them damaged while fighting. “This match is going to be so much fun!” You smiled at her as you tapped on Pandora’s screen, quickly choosing the song  _ ”Mamma Mia (He’s Italiano)” _ . 

**_“Now, let’s get started! Fifth match, begin!”_ **

Mina went in for the first strike; running straight towards you with a smug grin. Once close enough, she swung a fist and you quickly dodged, twirling away when the guitar came in. You stepped backwards a few times, incorporating a few steps from hip hop. She growled a little and struck again, following after you. The beat started, and you swung a leg out, hitting her square in the stomach with your shin and she doubled over. You pushed off, swinging around the same leg the opposite way and roundhouse kicked her in the shoulder. Mina fell to the floor with a gasp and rolled back to her feet. You backed away, eyes flitting around you for the white line.

Mina planted her feet firmly in the ground and made a trail of acid, quickly hopping onto it. In a second, her outstretched hand was only a few inches away from you. You fell to the side, twisting your body while your right leg slid forward and your left one supported you. You dropped and landed on your hands gently to roll behind her. You planted your hands on the ground and swung both feet to her ankles, sweeping her feet out from underneath her. Mina fell again with a yelp and you rolled away.

_ “-He says that I’m his only one and molta bella! He follows everywhere I go and calls me baby-” _

Mina jumped up with a pained groan and looked over at you. You smiled innocently at her. 

_ “-This little gigolo has got me goin’ crazy! I just can’t get him off my mind, he’s so amazing!-”  _

Mina sprinted after you and you flipped away, planting your hands behind you and swinging your legs over one by one swiftly. You spun, sending a kick to her face and she quickly ducked, colliding with your leg.

_ “-My heart says “yes”, my mind says “no”, just let him go! Go! Go!”  _

You fell to the ground painfully and Mina rolled off your leg and tried to climb on top of you, aiming to restrain your arms. You planted your feet firmly into the ground and raised your rear a foot into the air, throwing Mina off balance as you quickly dragged yourself under her, your legs pulling you to freedom as you pushed with your arms. She growled in frustration as you smoothly rolled and swung your legs again, hitting her side and sending her a few feet away. You continued rolling into a standing position.

_ “Oh, mamma mia, he’s Italiano! He’s gonna tell me a million lies! Oh, Mamma Mia, he’s Italiano! I love the way when I look into his eyes! Oh mamma mia, mamma mia, ma-mamma mia! Mamma mia, mamma mia, aye, aye, aye! Mamma mia, mamma mia, ma-mamma mia! Mamma mia, mamma mia, aye, aye, aye!”  _

She popped up near you and swung a roundhouse kick at your head this time. You bent backwards to avoid it. Another leg swept your feet out from under you, and you fell to the floor. You quickly pulled your legs over your head and rolled onto your knees, ignoring the slight pain in your neck and head from pulling this move. Mina jumped after you and you rolled onto your back and pulled your legs up.

_ “-He says “I love you, girl let me touch you”, but mama told me that Italians are macho! He says “come love me, don’t listen to your mama”, and I just hope it’s not gonna end in drama! He follows everywhere I go and calls me baby-” _

Mina landed on you, eyes widening as her stomach collided with your feet. You glanced above your head and gave her a smirk.

_ “-This little gigolo has got me goin’ crazy! I just can’t get him off my mind, he’s so amazing! My heart says “yes”, my mind says “no”-” _

You gathered strength in your legs and with all your might, you kicked her up, quickly adjusting your kick angle to force her above your head. You heard a loud thud and the crowd’s volume surged.

_ “-Just let him go! Go! Go! Oh mamma mia, he’s Italiano! He’s gonna tell me a million lies! Oh mamma mia, he’s italiano! I love the way when I look into his eyes!” _

You sat up and glanced behind you. Mina stared at you in shock as she slowly sat up from her laying position a few feet from the ring’s boundary _. **“Ashido is out of bounds! Walker** _ **_advances to the next round!”_ ** You sighed and stood up, stretching a bit before you walked over to her. You helped her get up and she groaned. “You really hit hard, you know that?” You laughed nervously. “Yeah, sorry about that..” She waved her hand. “Oh don’t worry about that!” She then peered at your golem. “What song is that? It’s really catchy, can you tell me?” You giggled and gently dragged her away. “It’s called  _ “Mamma Mia (He’s Italiano)” _ . I do believe it’s on YouTube if you want to check it out!” ****

**_“And just like that, Walker quickly dominates the stage with her killer moves! Boy, was she scary in that fight! I don’t know about you guys, but I certainly don’t want to be on the receiving end of one of her attacks, especially when her quirk is activated!"_ **

**_“Ashido didn’t really stand a chance once the first thirty seconds passed.”_ ** Aizawa added lazily. You turned to Mina as she limped along besides you, holding her stomach. “Sorry, but you really didn’t.” She smacked your shoulder gently with a loud laugh.

* * *

You and Mina walk back to your classmates from Recovery Girl’s office. Your friend was still rubbing her shoulder. You glanced over at her. “I’m still sorry about that.” Once again, the pink girl waved it off. “Like I said before, you’re fine! It doesn’t even hurt that much anymore!” You hummed but fell silent as the two of you reached your classmates. Most of them didn’t notice you two, but those who did nodded or waved at the two of you. You reclaimed your seat next to Midoriya and looked down into the arena. Tokoyami was busy pushing Momo out of the ring with Dark Shadow. You winced; the boy was really not the best choice for her.

**_“Yaoyorozu! You’re out!”_ ** Momo looked down with a shocked expression. You sighed.  **_“This match goes to Tokoyami!”_ ** You turned to Midoriya as he froze in his mission of scribbling down notes in his notebook. Ojiro finally noticed you and waved at you. You smiled back and leaned over Midoriya’s shoulder. “Tokoyami is way too powerful! I can’t believe that he forced her out of bounds by focusing his attacks on her shield! He obviously had a strategy worked out!” Ojiro looked back at Momo. “Yeah, I guess so. Maybe he didn’t want to hurt her?” Midoriya nodded. “I bet she’s really upset about how that went down. I feel bad for her.” You followed their gazes to Momo, who was currently walking across the grass with her head down.  **_“Okay, let’s see who we’ve got for ya next!”_ **

You turned back to Midoriya’s notebook and poked his shoulder. “Hey, Strawberry?” He jumped and let out a loud noise, quickly whipping his head around to face him. “Y-Yes?”

“Can I see what you’ve got in there?” You ask and point to his notebook. He shakily nodded and leaned towards you, letting you watch as he put more notes about Tokoyami’s quirk. “When did you even get back?” He asked, glancing up at you. You smiled. “Right before the match ended.” 

“Congratulations on your win, Walker!” Ojiro leaned forward with a smile. You thanked him. “Ah, speaking of your match,” Midoriya dragged your attention to his notebook as he flipped the  pages to a drawing of you in your Hero suit. One boot was activated and the other was still deactivated. There weren't as many notes floating near your drawn self as Tokoyami’s had, but you paid it no mind, “Since I have barely seen your quirk in action, I was hoping to get some notes on you!” You place a hand on his shoulder, quickly cutting off whatever he was about to say. “How about you ask me later? I’m kinda afraid my attention will be snatched multiple times and I’ll forget what we were talking about.” Midoriya lowered his notebook and nodded. You both turned back to the arena as Kirishima and Tetsutetsu’s battle began. However, since their quirks were almost identical, you quickly became bored watching as they punched each other with hardened fists. You pulled out your string and wrapped it around your fingers, leaning back with a sigh.

A few minutes later, you felt a tap on your shoulder and you looked up to see Midoriya standing up. You gave him a confused look. “I’m going to check on Uraraka, y-you wanna come?” You nodded and followed him to one of the waiting rooms, quickly shoving your string back into your pocket. Midoriya opened the door and you both walked in. Iida and Uraraka turned to look at you. “Uraraka!” Midoriya called with what you assumed was a serious expression. “Deku..why aren’t you out there watching the matches?”

“Well, most of them ended how I expected them to, and it’s looking like Kirishima’s fight is going to drag on for quite a while..” You snorted. “They’re practically clones, it’s almost sad to watch.” Uraraka let out a small laugh before glancing down to her hands. “I’m next, so this is it,” You watched as one of her hands clenched around the other. Shifting, you crossed your arms, “My fight.” Iida glanced towards the boy next to you. “It’ll be alright! I don’t think Bakugou would use the full power of his explosions on a girl, right?” You cringed at that and sighed. Midoriya looked at the taller teen with a serious expression. “Yeah, he would.” Uraraka squeezed her eyes shut and let out a strained whimper. “And besides, everyone’s trying to get the top spot in these games. Even if she was fighting Kaachan, I don’t think anyone would hold back.”

“Yeah, and it just doesn’t fit in with Bakugou’s personality.” You chimed in, biting your lip as you glanced away from Uraraka’s fearful expression. Midoriya agreed and looked down to his feet. “You’ve helped me so much, it’s my turn to help you,” He pulled out his notebook and held it out to the girl in front of him. “Maybe, I can repay you a little bit with this. I’ve got a plan for how you can use your quirk against Kaachan. It’s not much, but I did my best!” Iida smiled and turned back to Uraraka with two thumbs up. “Hey! Well alright, this is perfect!”

“Thank you so much for doing that,” She smiled at Midoriya with a small smile, “But, no. Sorry.” The two boys let out confused sounds and you furrowed your eyebrows. What? “You’re wonderful, Deku,” You flinched and rubbed your chest...Why did it suddenly clench up? “I keep seeing that over and over again. During the Cavalry Battle, I told you it was good to team up with friends, but now that I think about it, I might’ve been trying to rely on you to get by. That’s why, when Iida said he was trying his best to beat you,” She stood up with a small, sad smile, “I actually felt kind of embarrassed for myself.” She walked over to you three as Midoriya muttered out her name. She walked past you, slipping between you and Midoriya.  Your chest clenched once more, however, the cold feeling spreading from deep within your chest quickly disappeared. 

“So it’s fine, really.” She reached the door and paused. “Everyone’s facing their future and giving this their best. That means we’re all rivals, even you and me, Deku,” She glanced back and gave him a shaky smile and a thumbs up, “So, guess I’ll see you in the finals.” Your eyes flicked to her shaking hand before going back to her determined brown eyes. She left the room. With a glance back to Midoriya’s and Iida’s surprised faces, you quickly followed her, quickly snatching up a stray pen someone left on a nearby table. “Uraraka! Wait!” She paused and glanced back at you. You jogged closer to her, your heels clicking against the tiles loudly and echoing down the halls.

Once you reached her, you grabbed one of her hands before she could say anything. “Is it alright if I write on you?” Her face scrunched up into a confused expression. “Yeah, sure. But, why?”

You uncapped the pen and brought her left hand closer to you. You started drawing on the back of her hand. “I’m originally from England, and when I lived there, I had a friend who liked history. He taught me a lot of things about the culture, including old religions and folk tales. This symbol I’m drawing,” You finish and capped the pen, gesturing to the circle shaped symbol, “Is a Celtic symbol of strength, the  _ Dara Knot _ . I’m hoping it’ll give you strength to help you, like it has for me.” You wrapped your arms around her and squeezed as she returned the hug. “Break a leg, Bubbles, preferably Bakugou’s.” Uraraka giggled and you felt her nod. “Thank you, and I’ll try.” She pulled away and flashed you a smile. “I’ll see you in the stands, okay?” 

“Um, about that.”

* * *

You smiled at the vendor as he handed you some food. “Here you go!” He said with a cheerful smile and you quickly thanked him and stepped away. You gazed down at the food with a soft smile. You weren’t sure what it was exactly, but it reminded you of chinese doughnuts impaled by little sticks but instead of the sugary sprinkles they were covered in, they had this delicious smelling sauce slathered across them. You’ve never exactly tried them before, but everyone who bought it seemed to enjoy it, so you quickly picked one up and, after inspecting it thoroughly, popped the warm treat into your mouth.

Instantly, the flavor attacked your taste buds and your eyes widened before closing. You smiled softly as you chewed. ‘I’m really going to have to get this more often; it’s absolutely delicious!’

“Hey, girl!” You opened your eyes and glanced around, slowing to a stop. “U.A. student with the pigtails!” You made a confused hum as you turned fully around, quickly finishing off your bite of food. Your eyebrows scrunched together as a blonde woman ran towards you, body dressed in a spandex like suit and arm waving like crazy. Two men behind her called out to her in shock. You glanced around once more, and after noticing no other student around, you turned back to the woman.

Once she was by your side, and slammed her hands down onto your shoulders with a huff and spun you around. She started guiding ( **shoving** ) you somewhere secluded. You let out a sound of protest and quickly tried struggling against her. “Hey!” You shouted, gaining a couple looks. “Relax! I’m not going to hurt you!” The lady quietly hissed into your ear. “I just need to talk to you, and I doubt you want even strangers knowing what you really are!” Your blood froze in your veins as the shock settled in, yet immediately sparked back to life, thrumming with desperate electricity. She..knew? She knew. Oh god, she knew! Your eyes widened and you quickly stopped resisting. Who was she?

The woman behind you finally shoved you to a secluded spot and backed up. You quickly moved away from her, feet sliding into a fighting stance and you eyed her warily. “..Who are you?” The woman blinked and crossed her arms. “You really don’t recognize me?”

Squinting your eyes, you looked her up and down. “I think I would’ve remembered a blonde lady wearing something so ridiculous as that before.” A muscle in her jaw twitched and her smile grew forced. “Well, aren’t you just pleasant?” She replied through gritted teeth and you rolled your eyes, shifting slightly. “Sorry, not sorry. I tend to insult those that kidnap me. Now who are you?” The lady huffed. “The public knows me as Mount Lady. I believe we met at the airport a couple months ago.”

- _ A T.V. screen showing a blonde woman talking into a microphone with a weird mask covering her face. Behind her, a half collapsed building was being swarmed by helicopters and injured people were getting treated. _ -

- _ ‘Looks like I saved a hero. Guess that’s why the civilians got out so fast.’ _ -

Your eyes widened and you quickly slid out of your aggressive stance. Now it made sense why she knew you. “Ah, sorry. I’m still not familiar with most Pro Heros, let alone lesser known ones.” You bowed your head a little. “Did you need something?” You say and pop another of the delicious treats into your mouth. Mount Lady stepped closer and stared into your eyes with a serious expression. “What are you doing here? You’re putting the students here in danger.” You narrowed your eyes and swallowed the food down. “I’d think that with me being here the students would be safer, and I didn’t exactly have a choice. Nezu and Aizawa found me and made me come here. Otherwise, I’d be breaking into abandoned places or sleeping in parks at night and probably stealing food and getting arrested. Me attending school here is better for everyone.” You pointed the empty stick at the Hero. “Are we done here? I kinda need to go check on my friend.”

Mount Lady sighed and walked closer to you and planted a hand on your shoulder. “Just, be careful. You might attract the Akuma to the school.” You shrugged off her hand and hummed. “I’ve been careful my entire life. Don’t worry.” You glance down at your food and picked up another stick. You held it out to her. “Want one?”

* * *

You knocked on the door and opened it gently. Peering in, you spotted Uraraka standing by a table and staring at her phone. Her eyes were red and puffy, and you could still see a couple tears in her eyes. “Hey,” You quietly say as you slip in. Uraraka glanced up at you with a happy smile. “Hey.” You walked closer to her. “Are you doing okay? I heard you lost..”

The girl nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. Were you able to escape the sounds?” She suddenly pocketed her phone and played with her fingers. “Are you alright?” You smiled at her and placed your hand on her shoulder. You rubbed it and slid your arm over her shoulders, giving her a side hug. “I did manage to block out the explosions. Sorry I couldn’t be there to see your fight.” Uraraka waved her hand as you two walked to the door, your arm still slung over her shoulders. “Oh, no it’s okay! I understand completely why you had to leave, don’t worry!” You nodded and removed your arm and spun around until you were in front of her, holding out your hand. “Come on! Strawberry’s fight is going to start soon!”

With a laugh, she grabbed your hand and you spun on your heels. You bolted down the hall, and Uraraka’s laugh quickly turned into a yelp. You turned corners at a fast pace, sometimes narrowly dodging people in it. One time, you whizzed past Endeavor, accidentally brushing your arm against his front. You heard him shout loudly as you apologized over your shoulder, giggling along with Uraraka. Finally, you reached the stands where your friends were located and quickly sat down in the front seats just as Todoroki and Midoriya entered the arena. Uraraka heaved a huge sigh as she leaned back in her chair, panting heavily as you started humming and swinging your legs back and forth.

“How are you so fast?” Uraraka turned her gaze to you as she spoke between pants, “Actually, better question; how do you have so much energy?” You shrugged with a shit eating grin and turned back to your two friends about to fight as Present Mic cut into the conversations around you.

**_“I can FEEL the anticipation in the stadium, and that’s because the second round first match is GONNA BE EPIC!”_ **

* * *

Izuku climbed the steps once more, eyes quickly flitting up to gaze at Todoroki.  **_“It’s the guy that won the last fight by a landslide and LITERALLY left half the audience frozen! The Hero course’s Todoroki Shouto! And THIS kid almost walked out of his first match up, but made a stunning comeback by showing us some impressive moves! Also from the Hero course, Midoriya Izuku!”_ **

“So here we are,” Todoroki said quietly so only they could hear. “And only one of us can win.” Izuku replied.

**_“Both of these Heroes in training have been front runners in the Sports Festival, but which one of these rivals will advance to the next round?”_ ** Izuku shifted into a fighting stance as Todoroki’s cold eyes continued to bore into him while he readied himself as well.  **_“Prepare for, Midoriya versus Todoroki!”_ ** Izuku quickly slapped his left hand on the underside of his wrist while Todoroki’s right foot slid forward.  **_“Begin!”_ **

Immediately, ice shot forward from Todoroki’s foot, coming at him at a high speed. “Smash!” Izuku put his thumb and middle finger together, and as power gathered in his middle finger, he aimed at the ice and flicked. The force from his attack caused him to step back while raising his injured hand in the air. The ice stopped a yard in front of him, and after a second, shattered from the whiplash. Izuku grunted in pain as the whiplash shattered the ice all the way to his opponent. The crowd shrieked as it forced their backs to the back of their chairs. As the wind settled, Izuku glanced over at Todoroki with groans of pain slipping from his mouth. Todoroki’s cold gaze flicked from his injured finger to his eyes.  **_“Woah! Midoriya managed to break Todoroki’s INSANE opening move!”_ ** The crowd cheered loudly and Todoroki’s gaze flicked away. Izuku blinked. ‘What is he looking at?’ He quickly followed his classmate’s gaze up to where the rest of his classmates were.

Izuku met your worried gaze, and his eyes widened. You were biting your lip as your eyes flicked back and forth, fingers playing with each other as your worried gaze stared down at the arena. You looked like you desperately didn’t want to be there, yet you still sat in your chair. He quickly turned back to Todoroki to find his multi-colored eyes staring back at him. Ice shot forward yet again and with another grunt of pain, Izuku flicked another one of his fingers again. “Smash!” 

**_“He countered it again!”_ **

‘I don’t know much about Todoroki’s fighting style, his attacks are so fast it’s hard to collect data on him. Sso, during this fight, I need to focus on finding an opening somewhere.’ Izuku glanced at the shield of ice behind Todoroki. ‘The ice behind him is probably how he plans to keep from being blown out of bounds by my smashes. Which means,’ His gaze went down to his right hand as his fingers twitched. Pain shot up his arm as his broken fingers twitched involuntarily, ‘I was right to break my fingers. If I spent my whole arm on a full powered smash and the ice held up, I’d be doomed.’ He blinked and redirected his gaze back to Todoroki. ‘I can figure this out! Come one! Find a weak spot! I’ve only got six more chances!’

“Let’s continue.” Todoroki let out a breath and a cloud of air formed in front of him. It quickly disappeared as Todoroki shifted. With a gasp, Izuku quickly readied himself and flicked once more, breaking another finger in the process as the ice coming at him like a bullet shattered. ‘..Five more chances.’ Izuku let out a loud grunt. “You want an endurance match, but I’ll end this  quickly!” Shit. With a gulp, Izuku raised his arm once more and, with power rushing to his pinky, broke the ice wave Todoroki sent at him. The whiplash forced him back, his feet sliding against the rough ground in order to keep in him the arena. ‘That’s all the fingers on my right hand!’ 

**_“Todoroki withstood Midoriya’s power is now rushing his classmate!”_ ** Oh, crap! Izuku put his middle finger and thumb on his left hand together and with a loud cry, flicked while aiming at Todoroki’s ice bridge he was running on. “No!” It broke with a loud boom, and suddenly Todoroki was above him, flying at him. With a grunt, Izuku jumped away, narrowly avoiding the punch Todoroki sent. His fist hit the ground where he once stood at and ice sprung up around his fist. As Izuku jumped back, Todoroki’s gaze quickly whipped around to follow him and the ice around his fist grew in until it was coming at Izuku once more. It touched his right foot and started freezing him. ‘Oh no, not good!’ Izuku glanced at Todoroki to see ice gathering behind him.

With a growl, Izuku let power gather into his arm and forced his fingers into a fist. With a cry, he swung his own arm and the ice around him broke instantly, the whiplash from his attack much more powerful than before. He let out a cry of pain as his world blacked out for a terrifying second. He stumbled and opened his eyes. “That was much more powerful than any of your previous attacks.”

No.

“You’re trying to keep me away, smart.” Todoroki called out as he pushed a large shard of ice off of him. No, how-? ‘It’s not just that his quirk is powerful, his judgement, mobility, reasoning, all of his abilities, are incredible!’ Izuku lowered his gaze. “What’s the matter, are you really that worn out defending against my attacks?” With a growl, he slowly looked back up. Instantly, his eyes locked onto Todoroki’s right arm. ‘He’s shaking,’ Ice covered parts of his skin, causing Todoroki to tremble slightly, ‘Is he reaching some kind of limit? I’ve got to keep fighting!’ Izuku thought as he glanced back down. He could feel Todoroki’s cold gaze on him. “I’m sorry about this, but thanks for drawing it out.” ..Wait, what?

What is he-

“Look at him, he’s furious that I’m not using his power.”

- _ “I don’t have to rely on his damn fire quirk. You see, I’m going to show that bastard that I reject his power, and take first place without using it.” _ -

“With your hands like that, you can’t fight anymore, can you? Why don’t we end this?” Izuku felt another wave of ice shoot out towards him.  **_“Woah, Todoroki continues his overwhelming attacks! Could this be his finishing move?!”_ **

“..I am not done yet!”

The ice suddenly broke with a loud boom, and pain raced up his nerves.

* * *

Silence echoed across the stadium as the crowd stared at his opponent in shock. Shouto let his gaze drift down to Midoriya’s already broken index finger. ‘Damnit, with your broken finger?!’ Shouto stood up from his kneeled position. ‘Why are you going this far?’

“You’re trembling, Todoroki.” Suddenly, a wave of ice cold, colder than his own ice, washed over him...What? Midoriya raised his non broken arm shakily. “It’s easy to forget that quirks are physical abilities, and that means, there’s a limit to the cold your body can take, right?!” Shit. “I get it, usually you make up for the drop in temperature by using the heat from your left side, but you refuse to do that now.” Shit, he figured it out. “Listen, we’re all giving it our all. To try and win, to make our dreams into a reality, to become Number One! You think you can with half your strength?! Look at me, Todoroki, you haven’t managed to put a scratch on me yet!”

Shouto watched as Midoriya forced his broken fingers into a fist and shot his head up to look him in the eye. “So come at me with ALL YOU’VE GOT!”

“Midoriya, what are you trying to do here? You want my fire? What, did my monster of a dad bribe you or something?!” Shouto snarled and pushed forward, running at Midoriya. “Now I’m mad!”

‘In close quarters, there’s no way he’ll be able to dodge me!’ As soon as his right foot left the ground, Midoriya suddenly started moving. Shouto gasped inaudibly. ‘The instant I lifted my right foot, he’s coming!’

“Imagine the egg in the microwave!” ..What? Why did Midoriya suddenly yell that? Oh, oh no. Midoriya’s clenched fist glowed with a cluster of reddish pink lines appearing across his skin and suddenly, there was a fist in Shouto’s stomach.  **_“A solid punch!”_ ** Shouto felt his right hand graze Midoriya’s broken arm and ice appeared on his elbow,  **_“That’s the kind of action I like to see!”_ ** Shouto flew backwards and hit the ground, his body bouncing off of it a couple times before skidding to a halt. He barely heard Midorya’s loud cry of pain as the crowd cheered louder. Shouto stood up with a cough. ‘Why?’ He thought as he glared at Midoriya. He activated his right side once more, and ice shot forward yet his opponent dodged it. Shouto quickly ran forward, and as Midoriya looked up, he angled his body to avoid Shouto. Ice covered the ground underneath Midoriya as Shouto turned, but a sudden whiplash of wind caused both of them to fly away from each other. Shouto created a wall of ice behind him, and it shattered in some places as he hit it. 

He watched as Midoriya aimed another flick at him, yet did not attack yet. Shouto narrowed his eyes. Midoriya was proving to be harder to take down than he first thought. An image of you flashed through his head once more and he quickly glanced up at you out of the corner of his eyes. Your eyes were trained on him and his opponent, yet tears were pooling in your eyes as  you covered your mouth with one hand and tried to merge with Uraraka. Uraraka had an arm wrapped around your shoulders with her own uneasy expression painted across her face. Shouto flicked his gaze away from you as a bit of shame settled into his gut. He knew you cared a lot for people, and Midoriya was most definitely one of your friends. And here he was, fighting Midoriya and forcing him to hurt himself.

If only Midoriya would just..go DOWN, then this could stop, and you wouldn’t have to watch it anymore.

If only he wasn’t so stubborn..

* * *

You whimpered as Midoriya and Todoroki continued to fight, with Midoriya hurting himself over and over to fight off your other friend. You quickly hid your face into Uraraka’s neck. She wrapped her other arm around you and squeezed, hushing you quietly. “Hey, it’s okay! They’ll be done soon, don’t worry!” You whimpered again and covered your ears to block the sounds of ice breaking ( _ bones breaking, cannon fire coming straight for you _ ) and Midoriya (Allen) crying out in pain. You felt your anklets shift slightly as your mind started slipping away.

- _You felt a burning sensation in your legs as your blood gushed out of your body, quickly sliding through the metal holes in the walkway beneath you. Your hearing and vision blacked out every few seconds, making it hard to know anything outside of the_ ** _burning, burning, burning fire in your legs_** **_oh god, somebody please make it STOP IT HURTS_** _-_

_ “Aleah! She’s bleeding!” Wasn’t that..Chief? Who’s bleeding? _

**_Boom!_ ** _ “Allen Walker!” Fear twisted in your stomach. Oh no, that voice, he- _

_ “Stay back!” ..Allen..? _

**_“Hahahahahaha! Keep it coming, Exorcist!”_ **

_ “Aughhh!” _

_ “Stay strong!” Kanda..? _

_ “You’re all we’ve got right now!” Lavi..? What are they doing here? _

**_“Aleah.”_ ** _ Hevlaska? What happened? What did you do? Wait..were YOU the one bleeding? “Hevlaska..”  _

**_“Wait, let me look. Don’t touch her legs.”_ ** _ The burning lessened some to the point where you could think coherently again, and you opened your eyes slightly. Hevlaska’s tendrils probed the  _ _ open wounds on your legs, glowing with dings of bells as they made contact.  _ **_“To have gone so far as to drink it..Aleah.”_ ** _ The person holding you shifted, hugging you closer. “The Innocence suddenly liquified on its own! It’s almost like it was asking to be drunk!” _

_ “Has the Innocence fused with Aleah’s body?” A wave of ice cold fear washed over you and you whimpered, snuggling closer to your hug companion.- _

“Aleah?”

- _ ”What’s going on, Hevlaska?!” _

_ “The bleeding won’t stop!” Something nuzzled your head as a liquid (it’s not there) dripped onto your face. “The bleeding..” _

**_Boom!_ ** _ “Allen!” _

**_“Heh. You still won’t go down, huh?”_ ** _ No. No, no nononono don’t you  _ **_DARE HURT HIM._ **

_ “Yu!”  _ **_Crash!_ ** _ “Moyashi!”  _ **_Clang! “It’s no use. You’re not good enough to play with me. What a drag!” Boom! Boom! Boom!_ **

**_“Come on now, play with me some more!”_ **

**_BOOM!_ ** _ “Allen!” _

_ “Well, Hevlaska?”- _

“Aleah, can you hear me? It’s me, Uraraka!”

“Is she okay?! What’s going on?!”

- **_”What’s the meaning of this?!”_ **

_ “What’s wrong?!” _

**_“It’s gone. Though there are indications it passed through her body, I can’t sense the Innocence within her at all!”_ **

_ “What? That’s impossible!” _

**_“It’s gone.”_ ** _ You felt something harden around your feet.  _ **_“It’s not inside her. Where could it be?”_ **

**_Crack._ ** ****

**_Plop._ ** ****

_ Something moved in front of you, crackling like it was made of ice or glass. It came closer and you opened your eyes (when did you close them?). A headless being with wings for arms leaned over you, shining with the crystalized blood. “It can’t be..” You blinked a few times to clear your vision as Komui (Uraraka) unconsciously hugged you closer. _ - ****

“Aleah, come on! Please snap out of it!”  ****

“What the hell is wrong with Pigtails?” ****

- _ You slowly reached out to graze your fingertips across the jagged, glass-like surface of the blood. You knew exactly what it was. _ - ****

“Walker, you’re scaring us!”  ****

“That’s it, we’re taking her to Recovery Girl! Uraraka, you got a good grip on her?” ****

“Uh, y-yeah!” ****

“Good, slide her onto my back! I’ll carry her!” ****

“Are you sure that’s a good idea, Kirishima? She’s thrashing around..” ****

“Don’t worry! I can handle her if she hits me!” ****

“I will inform a teacher and meet you in Recovery Girl’s temporary office! Kirishima, please do not use your quirk! It might hurt our classmate!” ****

“I won’t! Hurry, Iida!” ****

- _ “Innocence, did you hear my will..?” You whisper and firmly place your hand on your blood. It leaned down more and merged into your legs, swiftly disappearing. “I don’t believe this,” Komui gasped as he watched the Innocence disappear without a trace. You gazed down your legs and noticed two new scars in the shape of crosses right above your feet, “Is the Innocence planning to make a weapon out of Aleah’s blood?!” Your legs started brightly glowing green, causing those looking at you to quickly advert their gazes. You watched it as your Innocence continued to merge with your body. _ ****

_ “Activate.” Red, almost black thigh high boots were revealed as the greenish glow peeled off of your legs and disappeared like smoke. It reflected Hevlaska’s white glow and the lights above  _ _ you, giving it the appearance of glass. You knew instantly, however, that it was much,  _ **_much_ ** _ stronger than it appeared to be. _ -

“Recovery Girl!”

“What’s going on?!”

“It’s Walker! While we were watching our classmates fight, she just started thrashing around and whimpering! We don’t know what happened!”

“Oh dear, put her on the bed! Do either of you two know if she’s prone to seizures?”

“Um, about that..Aleah told me something earlier..”

- _ You stood up, ignoring the sudden dizziness caused from blood loss and looked around frantically. “Aleah! Please, slow down!” A pair of hands landed on you, and with a start, you realized you almost fell. You grabbed your head and with Komui’s help, stood up straight with a groan. “Where is it?” You whispered. “Where is what? The Level 4?” You slowly nodded as the dizzy spell receded. You looked up with a steely gaze and stared Komui down. He silently turned and pointed. You followed his finger. _

**_“You were fun to play with! But, this is goodbye.”_ ** _ No. _

_ No, no nonono! A wave of ice cold fear crashed into you and you started running. One step, then two, three, five, and you jumped. You flipped in mid air, reveling in the familiar feeling of flying that you could no longer experience the same way, and landed  _ **_hard_ ** _ on the Level 4’s arm with a boom. It dropped Allen and he landed with a thud, however, it’s arm barely moved. _

_ Everything went silent. _

_ With every piece of hatred, anger, and determination you could find in yourself, you clenched your hands into fists and whipped your head up to glare into the red eyes of the Level 4. “How dare you destroy my home!” You watched as a manic grin split its face and a purple glowing ball appeared in the Akuma’s hand, growing bigger every second that time passed by. Your eyes widened.  _ **_“Oh, a new player?”_ **

_ ‘He’s going to fire.’ You thought and moved off of the Akuma’s arm, grabbing onto Allen’s white cloak. You felt the heat of the attack on your back as you wrapped your arms around your brother, stomping your foot into the ground. You forced power into your legs and  _ **_jumped_ ** _. _ -

“Oh? What was it?”

“She-She said something about having PTSD, and-and that she couldn’t watch my match because of it. I think-I think it had something to do with Baugou’s quirk. Do you think this might be what’s happening now?”

“Hmm, it could be.”

**Thud, clat!** “Recovery Girl! I brought All Might!” 

“Iida!”

“What is wrong with Young Walker?!”

“It might be a panic attack caused by some PTSD she has, but we’re not entirely positive what it is. You three, please return to your classmates. We’ll take everything from here!”

“But-”

“Young Uraraka, it might be best if you left. We’ll need some room to fully treat your classmate.”

“..O-Okay..”

**Shish, shish.**

“Alright, lets get to work!”

\-  **_Boom!_ ** _ You grit your teeth as your boots pushed you higher. You felt your brother gag and you turned to look at him as he slapped a hand over his mouth. “Allen..?” _

_ “Too fast..”  _

_ “Ah, sorry! A-Are you going to be okay?” You glanced down at your feet in confusion. ‘That’s odd. I didn’t intend to jump this high. Am I rusty from not using them? Huh, what the-’ You blinked several times as large, red butterfly wings flapped slowly at the heels of your boots. They had a soft, green glow surrounding them. ‘What is this?’ Your eyes shifted past them just in time to see the Level 4 aim a large, WW1 style machine gun at you and shoot. You dodged most of the bullets and landed on one, using it to jump to another. Green electricity shot out of your boots at the contact of  _ Dark Matter _.  _

_ As the Akuma flew closer, you dropped down onto it with a strong kick. It shifted around and met your foot with its own, and two lights of purple and green surrounded your feet with a loud crack of electricity as you crouched into your attack. You watched through the colored lights as a manic smile spread across the Akuma’s face once more, and suddenly you’re flying away from each other. You glance back up at your brother to assess his injuries. _

_ He was covered in blood and forming bruises. His cheeks were puffing up from the many hits he took from the Level 4, and you could feel blood drip onto your shirt from his stomach. Allen’s once white hair had a pinkish hue to it, and you knew just from the feel of it that there were tendrils of his cloak wrapped around his legs and torso. Your heart clenched at the sight. He was using his Innocence to force his body to move.. _

_ Why wouldn’t he just stay down? He would’ve had more stamina that way, and there wouldn’t be so many injuries littering his body!  _

_ “Aleah, I’m fine, you can let go of me. If I extend  _ Crown Belt _ , I won’t fall,” He glanced away with what looked to be shame in his eyes, “I’m sorry.” _ -

“All Might, please keep her still! She might fall off of the bed and hurt herself!”

“Okay, I’m on it!” 

“Walker, you need to snap out of it! You’re in a safe place, dearie!”

- _ “I couldn’t defend the others at all. I’m so,  _ **_so_ ** _ sorry!” His frame shook as he fought back the sobs trying to tear out of his throat. “Forgive me.” _

_ An image of all of the scientists you grew close to over the time you spent living in the Order flashed behind your eyes. You slowly let go of your brother with a sharp intake of air and tears rimmed your eyes. Allen quickly grabbed onto some of the railings surrounding you with his cloak and you slowly moved your gaze to your hands. They were held up at your chest, shaking. You felt your lower lip tremble and you bit it harshly, refusing to allow yourself to cry at this time. You clenched your hands into tight fists and looked back up at Allen. “I’m sorry as well,” His eyes widened and whipped back to you, “I took so long to help. I guess girls really do take a long time getting ready.” You say with a weak chuckle and wipe your eyes clean from any tears. _

_ Allen stared at you for a moment before a frown settled onto his face and his silver (weren’t they green..?) eyes regained that familiar steely resolve. “Let’s stop him. Together.” Your own expression shifted into a determined one as well and you nodded. Timcanpy handed Allen his sword and you turned back to the Akuma underneath you. “Let’s go!” _

**_“Bring it!”_ ** -

“Recovery Girl, we got a student here who- holy shit, Aleah?!"

“Present Mic! Aizawa! There you two are!”

“We were informed that Walker here suddenly started thrashing around in the current fight, and-All Might, would you be a dear and loosen up your hold? I think you might be holding onto her a bit too tight. And we are currently trying to get her out of whatever trance she’s in!”

“Well, we’ve got another student here who badly needs some medical attention!”

“Young Midoriya!”

“Put him on the other bed! Quickly now! Aizawa, Present Mic, since she’s your charge, I’m putting you in charge of helping her while I heal Midoriya.”

“Aleah, can you hear us? Aleah, please respond!”

“Smacking her face like that will not help her. She’s probably having another flashback.”

“Then what do you suggest we do, huh, Eraser?!”

“First off, we need to help ground her. She was doing this during Midoriya and Todoroki’s match, correct?”

“Mwah, according to the students who brought her here, yes.”

“..What set her off?”

“..Young Midoriya and young Todoroki are her friends, yes?”

“Yes..”

“What are you getting at, All Might?”

“Maybe it was seeing them fighting that triggered something..? I mean, if you look closely, it kind of looks like she’s attacking something..”

“You’re right, it does look like she is!” 

- _ You opened your eyes with a quiet groan and blinked a couple times as the smoke cleared away. The Level 4 blocked your brother’s sword and uppercut Allen in his stomach, and he coughed loudly as he was flung into the air. It turned to look at you with a small grin. Your eyes widened and you dodged to the side, and a second later, a large fist slammed into the wall where your head was once at. You cartwheeled away, swiftly shifting into a series of flips before crouching. The Akuma flew after you and you jumped, slamming yourself onto the Level 4 and pinning it to the rocky floor with a boom. Wrapping your legs around it’s throat, you threw  _ _ yourself to the side and grabbed onto the railing. You swung your legs over and kicked the Akuma to the ground. _

_ You joined Allen as he zoomed past you, aiming a kick at the Akuma’s stomach. It opened its eyes as you landed on it. You both crouched into its stomach and kicked it to the ground with a battle cry. It landed on a metal pathway with a loud thud, and Allen let go of the railings above you, shooting down onto it with his sword posed to pierce its body. _ -

“Aleah, you need to listen to us; you are safe. You’re in U.A. We’re having a Sports Festival.”

“Come on, Aleah, snap out of it.”

“Walk..er?”

“Ah, young Midoriya! You’re awake!”

“What’s happening? What happened to Walker?!”

“Ah, well…”

“She’s having an episode. We’re trying to help her out of it.”

“An episode? Of..what?”

“She’ll tell you if she wants to, now lie back down! I need to perform surgery on your arms!” 

“Surgery?! Are they that bad?!”

- _ Allen slammed into the Akuma, his blade cutting deep into its stomach. It grunted as it grabbed the blade, stopping it in its tracks. It grinned up Allen as you shot down. “ _ **_Heh, not happening.”_ **

_ “That so?" _

_ You slammed your feet into the handle of the sword with a boom. The force of your attack cracked the ground underneath them and shoved the sword deeper into the Level 4’s stomach. It shrieked as you crouched into the handle and jumped away. You felt the air around whip your shoulder length hair into your skin as you shot up. Your body flipped a few times as you neared the top of your jump. ‘Higher, faster!’ You thought as the soft green glow grew brighter until they were covering almost all of your legs. _

_ ‘Accelerate more and give more power!’ You felt a strange sensation at your heels, yet at the same time, felt nothing at all. You glanced down to see the butterfly wings appearing once more. A green spark lit up at your heels, right in between the wings of the butterflies and suddenly, the  _ _ temperature rose as flames ignited. Your eyes widened. ‘As I thought, these  _ Dark Boots  _ are different from the previous ones. I don’t have to control it, it just responds to my emotions! It feels different from an Equipment Type!’ You narrowed your eyes as your feet brushed against the ceiling of the giant tower you call home. You firmly planted your feet against it and crouched, gathering power into your legs. _

_ Your old boots were hard to use; if you tried to jump from here to the very bottom where Allen and the Akuma were, you’d have to jump off of several different floors in order to reach the amount of speed and power you want. The ceiling cracked under you, almost shattering. You’ll have to do this in one jump. _

_ “LET’S GO!” You screamed and shot down like a meteor, almost as fast as you were when you fought Esshi. _ -

“Aleah, I’m going to touch you! Please don’t freak out more!”

“Rub her hand slowly, and don’t put a lot of pressure on her! Just a little to help ground her.”

“Young Walker, I don’t know what is going on in your mind right now, but know that you are currently safe. You are no longer in that dark place.”

- _ A thumb rubbed the back of your hand, and you glanced down to look at it questionly. What? Where did that come from? You glanced up to see the image of the Akuma and Allen distort like an image in a body of water. It rippled, slowly fading away to reveal a concerned face. You jerked away, farther into the strong body holding you gently. You froze. What is going on? _

_ You ripped your hand away from the disembodied thumb and glanced around you. _ -

“Aleah?”

- _ Your surroundings, which were once floor after floor flying by you, shattered, leaving a black abyss. You turned back to the face. _ -

“I think she’s coming back to us! All Might, loosen up a little!”

\-  _ You gripped the big arm holding you tightly and slowly reached out to the face. You’ve..seen it before, haven’t you? ..Yeah, yeah you have! That was- _

“Present Mic?” The face lit up with glee and relief and a hand suddenly captured yours. You flinched, but as soon as the thumb started rubbing against your hand, you started to relax. “Hey, little listener!” Your eyes traveled around you as the black abyss faded away. You were in an office, a very small one at that, that reminded you of Recovery Girl’s office. You blinked as she appeared next to your other guardian. You shifted and froze as you remembered the strong  arms around your waist. You slowly looked behind you and was met instantly with a strained smile. “All Might..? What’s going on?”

“You don’t remember?” Recovery Girl’s elderly voice caused you to look back at her. “Hmm, I can’t tell if this is good or no; I’m not familiar with mental illnesses.”

You felt a nudge in the back of your mind, and suddenly, memories of the past twenty minutes (has it really been twenty minutes?) flooded back into you. You let out a little gasp, and tears instantly sprung in your eyes. You trembled and tugged at the arms surrounding you, whimpering. They reluctantly let you go and you instantly crawled to Present Mic. You wrapped your arms around his body and squeezed tightly, barely feeling his arms do so as well, and you sobbed into his chest. A hand carded through your hair, and you felt a huge weight lift off of the bed as Present Mic hummed out soft reassurances to you. Soon, your sobs dissolved into soft cries, and then into the occasional sniffle.

A minute later, you fell asleep in Present Mic’s arms.

* * *

A hand shook you gently. “Aleah, hey, it’s time to wake up! We need to leave!” You groaned and shifted, hiding your face in the pillow. A sigh was all the warning you had before the covers were yanked off of you and you were suddenly dangling from a very tall person’s arms. You hissed quietly and squirmed, desperate to return back to the warmth you called a bed. “Hey, come on now, little listener! We need to go home! It’s almost time to start dinner!” Wait, what? Weren’t you already at home? Isn’t it morning? You were supposed to have a festival of some sorts today, weren’t you? ARE YOU LATE??

Your eyes snapped open and your head whipped from side to side. “What?” You croaked. You were in a..school nurse’s office? How did you get here? Why were you here? ..Why did your head hurt so much? “Aleah?” Your eyes traveled back to the person holding you. Upon seeing who it was, you tiredly cracked a tiny grin. “Hey, Present Mic, what’s,” Your mouth opened against your will in a yawn, “What’s up?” He sighed and set you down on the bed gently, and you melted into the stiff bed. “You’ve been asleep since after Midoriya and Todoroki’s fight.” Wait, what? The blond teacher sighed and placed a hand on your shoulder gently as your face screwed up in confusion. “..Do you remember what happened? Before you fell asleep?”

A shot of fear raced up your spine in an instant, numbing your body like you had just dunked yourself into a pool of cold water. You gasped as the split second passed and you placed a hand on your mouth...Why were you afraid? What-what happened to you?

- _ An angelic being grinned at you with blood lust, it’s red eyes boring into your soul. _ -

“No, I-I don’t,” You mumbled and lowered your gaze, “Sorry.” 

“Don’t be! It’s natural, and common, for people to forget certain stressful and terrifying moments in their lives.” Present Mic rubbed his thumb on your shoulder. Once you looked back up, he smiled at you. “Now come on, we need to find Erasure!” He grabbed your hand and tugged you to your feet, leading you out of the office. 

You two eventually found him in the teacher’s office, Shinsou watching in confused silence as Aizawa tried to wiggle out of his sleeping bag without irritating his injuries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooo, i did not really mean for Aleah to pass out after having a flashback, but my writing took control of me. whoops. but, it turned out well, so i'm happy! also, i am by no means an expert on mental health issues and PTSD, so if things are a bit weird, i apologize. i hope you all liked this chapter, and i'm sorry for not posting recently! my aunt came by and i got hit with a huge bout of writer's block for about a week. i hope you all have a wonderful day/night, and stay safe! you're all AWESOME! XP


	9. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song is Bang, by AJR

“Come on, please? I can’t just sit around doing nothing!”

Your guardians glanced at each other before returning their gazes to you. Present Mic gently smiled at you with his hands splayed out in a placating gesture. “Now, Aleah, calm down-”

You huffed angrily and stamped your foot. You knew you were acting childish, but if it got them to listen right now, then you’ll do what you have to. “No, I will not! I need to hunt down that nest, or else more people will get hurt! Why can’t we do this now?” You swung an arm to the darkened window, the moon barely visible through the thick branches outside. “It’s nighttime, there won’t be as many people out to recognize either of you two, and we already wasted a day into this two day break!” You whined loudly. Aizawa sighed and glanced up to the ceiling, crossing his arms. You felt a spark of joy go through you at the sight of seeing him without the many bandages and splints. “Alright, fine,” You smiled widely and jumped up and down with a loud cheer, “You remember the rules, right?”

Nodding, you quickly rattled off the rules he and Nezu gave you when you first met them. “Stick close to you at all times, no irritating actions, and listen to every order when not fighting Akuma. Can we go now?” Aizawa sighed and rubbed his temple. “We need to eat.” 

“We can get it while we walk around,” Present Mic laughed as he slapped your other guardian’s back, “Come on, Erasure, don’t be a stick in the mud!” He yelled and Aizawa groaned. “Why are you two so loud?” You giggled and ran to your room, slamming your closet door open. You rummaged through it for your red heels and a change of clothes. “Aleah, come on!” Present Mic yelled from downstairs. “There’s this good ramen place nearby that will close in one hour!” You gasped and bounced on your shins. “Hold on, I’m coming!” You heard the front door open and close.

“Don’t leave me behind!”

* * *

You stretched while you followed your guardians closely, groaning a little as the shop closed up behind you. “Man, that was good! We need to get that more often!” Present Mic laughed and slung an arm around Aizawa. “Yeah, right Shouta?” Aizawa groaned into his hand and the blond adult turned to you with a smile. “You’re getting better at eating with chopsticks, Aleah!” You hummed as you linked your fingers together behind your head. “Really? I haven’t noticed. Thanks though, Present-”   
  
“Hizashi.” You blinked and moved your gaze from studying your surroundings to Present Mic’s own. “What?” 

“Outside of school and when I’m not in my Hero costume, call me Hizashi. I’m pretty sure I’ve told you this before.” You nodded slowly. “Alright.” With that, you glanced away and gazed into the alleyways you were passing. You all were wearing civilian clothing, and you have to admit, even though you’ve lived with the pair of Heros for a couple months now, it was still weird seeing Pres- _ Hizashi _ in regular clothing. You adjusted your jacket as you glanced around, searching for the familiar dead face you saw on the t.v. that one time. If you could just find it, then maybe it’ll lead you to a nest? You sighed just as a clang echoed down from an alley. 

You paused as your guardians tensed and instantly turned to it. They slowly crept to it with you following and peered into it. You heard Aizawa softly curse as his hand instinctively went up for his absent scarf, and you peered over their shoulders. The alley had a huge dumpster leaning against the wall of a building on one side, and the other had a couple trash bags full to the brim of rotten food and plastic filtering out and blood splatter. There were huge rips in the bags, allowing you to see into them, and nearby were pools of blood. You inhaled sharply. The two Heros in front of you walked closer to the bags while looking for any movement up ahead.

You crouched in front of the bags and squinted your eyes to see better in the low light. Alongside the trail of blood were drops of a dark liquid. Faint stars started appearing around the drops and you frowned, glancing up to gaze at your guardians. “Akuma. I’d say a Level 2 or Level 3. It should still be close by.” They nodded at that and stared down the narrow space. “Alright,” Aizawa muttered, “Let’s go. Lead the way, Aleah.” You stood with a soft grunt and turned to them. “I suggest changing into your suits; it’s going to be a while before I actually find the damn thing.” Hizashi turned to you. “What about the civilian?” You sighed and rubbed your neck. “They’re already dead. Whatever Level this is, it injected Dark Matter into the guy’s bloodstream. The virus kills organic beings within a minute, and judging from the blood splatter it stabbed the person with something laced with Dark Matter and dragged them to it. That civilian is not alive anymore.” He slowly nodded with a slight grossed out expression.

“I’m kinda concerned about how you know this, but I think I already know how.” You smiled wryly at him before turning to look at the blood and Dark Matter. “Go ahead and change. I think it will be better if you’re following me as Heros than civilians right now.” You heard their footsteps slowly start walking away before you were left alone. You crouched once more to look at the drag marks.

‘This doesn’t look too good..’

* * *

Your heels clicked loudly against the pavement as you and the two Heros followed the blood trail. Your eyes occasionally flitted up from the trail to observe your surroundings before flicking back down, and you could practically feel the tension rolling off of the two men behind you. “It’s like he flew through the air,” You whispered to yourself, not caring if your companions heard you or not, “What shape did it have to make him fly towards it?” You winced as your gut twisted while you turned a corner. You paused and Present Mic ran into you, yelping and stumbling back. You glanced at him briefly, shooting him an unimpressed look before turning back to the crime scene in front of you.

Dust, ash, and gas slowly traveled through the air, slowly filtering out of the empty clothes and shoes laying innocently in a heap on the cement ground. You narrowed your eyes and pulled out a cloth mask. You heard Present Mic and Aizawa do the same from your cue, and you walked into the poisonous cloud as you put on the mask. You crouched next to the pile of clothes and pulled out a pair of latex gloves, swiftly rolling them on with a snap. You started rummaging through the pile as Present Mic cleared his throat. “Do you think we should call the police?” You hummed and picked up the shirt. It had a large hole on the front and back, allowing you to see the wall in front of you, and had blood on the front and the edges of the hole. You frowned. 

“Yes, unfortunately.”

“Unfortunately?” Aizawa replied as he took out his phone. You sighed as your fingers brushed against something hard and thin. “Back in the Order, we wouldn’t have called in the cops for an Akuma killing. Most cops weren’t in the know of the war, so they wouldn’t have been helpful at all, plus we weren’t supposed to let the dead’s family know. If we came across an Akuma killing and it had an I.D. somewhere, we’d tell the family they went missing.” You pulled out the object from the clothes and held it up to the light. It was a wallet. “We did that to avoid the family grieving. The Earl would have been interested and tried to turn one of them into an Akuma.” You opened the wallet and searched through it for an I.D. You located it and placed the wallet back where you found it.

“Okay, so, why are we calling the police then?” Present Mic asked as he ducked to avoid an oncoming cloud of gas. You smirked under your mask at the sight before groaning and standing up. “Because, thanks to that video of the train station being attacked by a Level 2, the whole country knows about the Akuma now, and what the victims look like once they’re killed. At some point someone is going to find this and report it to the police, so we might as well do it now.” You turned to Aizawa as he dialed the emergency hotline. “Does Nezu know I’m hunting?”

“Yes, he has been informed.” You nodded once. “Good.” As Aizawa was answered by a police officer, you turned back to the pile of clothes and grimaced. You gazed at the remains with sorrow and slowly sat down on your knees. You clasped your hands together and closed your eyes, bowing your head to the clothes. “Oh God, Father of all, I pray for this unfortunate man, and for all those who were tricked, killed, and stolen from you by the Earl. Grant to them eternal rest. Let light perpetual shine upon them. May this man’s soul, and all those who have suffered by the Earl’s hands, rest in peace through your mercy,” You whispered softly in English, “Amen.” You opened your eyes, swiftly standing up and turning back to your guardians.

“-And make sure you bring masks. The air is poisonous here.” Aizawa said into the phone before hanging up. Present Mic was currently taking off his mask as he walked away from the cloud of gas. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” You called as you returned to Aizawa’s side, “The gas Akuma give off is just like this, but deadlier. It’s a lot more poisonous than what humans turn into once hit.” The Hero paused and nervously chuckled, slowly putting the mask back on. You nodded and turned your gaze back to the rough ground, looking for more of the blood trail.

“So,” Present Mic called out, rubbing his head, “What do we do now? It escaped with killing someone..” You stepped closer to a cluster of dark spots on the ground. “Well, you may not be able to track an Akuma down from a killing, but I can.” Your eyes followed the trail of dark spots to the darkened part of the alley. “It stabbed the guy from the back with something laced with Dark Matter, and it tore through his chest. That means it should still have the blood on it.” Aizawa stepped closer to you, following your gaze. “Wouldn’t it have wiped off the blood? We have been informed that Level 2’s and higher are able to think.” You shook your head. “First off, that info is wrong. All the Levels can think, but they get smarter and stronger the higher their level is. For example, once they reach Level 2, they learn to speak. Second off, they’re sadistic as hell. They wouldn’t have wiped it off until they've flaunted it in front of other Akuma, like showing off a trophy. They would’ve licked it clean afterwards.” You started following the trail of blood. “We can follow the blood to the Akuma.”

“And if it dried while it was still running?” You turned back to them with a smile. “There are other ways to track an Akuma, just like there are many ways to track a person. Of course, it’s harder to do so, but it can be done. Akuma can retain their behaviors from when they were human, so they can still leave behind cues here and there. We just have to be patient and vigilant.” You take the lead once more, gaze flicking around. A few minutes later, the trail stopped abruptly. You hum as Present Mic groaned loudly.

“Great, it’s gone!” You glanced around. “How the hell did it just..stop? Shouldn’t it have slowly tapered off?”

“It should have, meaning it jumped.” You walk around, pulling out a flashlight and turning it on. “Now, lets see. There should be a few drops here somewhere..Aha! I found the trail again!” You called and walked alongside the blood droplets. Your gut twisted once more as Aizawa and Present Mic followed you. Pandora slipped out from your bag and flapped above your heads  quietly. Underneath the sound, you heard a strange, scratching sound. You paused and held up a hand, moving your head around like a barn owl to search for the source of the sound. You turned right and slowly crept along the wall. Soon, a giant bug like tail with a barb on the end appeared from behind a corner and you froze. It had blood on it.

It disappeared and after a few moments of tense silence, you slowly followed it into another back alley. Ahead of you, turning the corner, was a giant scorpion-like creature slowly turning the corner. It honestly reminded you of a centaur. As soon as it turned the corner, you moved slowly into the narrow space, head moving around for any other Akuma.

“Hey,” Present Mic softly whispered , and you tilted your head slightly, “Is this a good time to mention that I fear bugs and should probably sit this one out?” You mentally groaned. You could already tell tonight was going to be a long one.

* * *

You quickly ducked behind a large stack of metal poles, the two men with you following. You slowly peered over the edge of the stack to observe the Akuma.

The scorpion centaur had led you to a construction site, stopping just outside of the half finished building. It screeched loudly, and suddenly, Akumas of all shapes and sizes poured out of the building. You counted ten before the stream of Akuma finished. ‘Okay, that’s good. Only about eleven Level 2’s. Though, that’s a bit odd. Normally, there’s at least one Level 3 in a nest these days.’ Your eyes traveled back to the building as the scorpion showed off its bloodied tail. ‘It might be inside. I’m going to have to draw it out then.

**“That’s not fair!”** Your gaze flicked back to the group of Level 2’s as one that resembled a baby doll kicked and screamed in the air. A giant star sat in the middle of its forehead as two smaller faces stuck out its round cheeks. Its body was round and small while its long limbs dangled from their sockets. Its limbs were skeletal, and ended in sharp points. You cringed as its demented female voice cried out again.  **“You asshole! How can you be so carefree when there’s a rogue Exorcist running around? You might have led it here from your kill!”**

**“Really, Sasori?! You really had to go hunt?!”** Another Akuma scolded the scorpion. It was one of those wolf Akuma that you had first encountered with Suman, the ones that could control wolves.  **“You could’ve doomed us all! Haven’t you heard? That rogue Exorcist purified an airport full of Level 3’s** **_all by itself!_ ** **There’s even rumors that it can purify a Level 4! The hell is wrong with you?!”** Sasori sighed.  **“Relax, I made sure that no one followed me. We’re safe! That Exorcist isn’t anywhere near us!”** You smirked as the Akuma crowded around the scorpion. You turned to Aizawa and Present Mic. “You two stay here,” You whispered, “I don’t want them seeing you. If they do, they’ll either use you against me, or kill you on the spot.” They nodded and you slipped out from your hiding spot, quickly ducking behind another pile of construction tools. You continued to hop from hiding spot to hiding spot as the Akuma wailed at each other.

**“Oh, fuck you, Sasori!”** One screeched and tackled the scorpion, its giant hanging head splitting wide open to reveal razor sharp teeth. It bit down on Sasori’s tail.  **“If I get exorcised, I’m killing you! You hear me?!”**

**“What’s going on here?!”** You froze and slowly and carefully peered over the edge of your current hiding place. A Level 3 slowly floated out of the half finished building, quickly followed by two more. Their multiple eyes opened and glared down at the group of Level 2’s as a woman stepped out after them. You scrunched your face up in confusion. She looked relatively normal; long red hair held up in a bun and dressed in a green kimono. She slowly looked up, eyes instantly going up to the Level 3’s floating above her, and you gasped. Her irises were a deep red, and the whites of her eyes were black. A large black star covered the middle of her forehead. ‘Is she..she can’t be. He’s been dead for months!’

**“I said, WHAT is going on here?!”**

**“I-It’s nothing, sir!”** The doll Akuma cried, hiding behind its sharp limbs.  **“Sasori just angered-”** A giant spike tore through its head, cutting it off as one of the Level 3’s screeched in outrage.  **_“Don’t lie to me!”_ ** You winced.  **“I smell a human!”** One of the other Level 3’s screamed, head flicking back and forth. The Level 2’s glanced at each other then silently turned to the scorpion centaur as it opened the jaws of the aggressive Level 2. It quickly hid its tail from the eyes of the Level 3’s as the disguised Akuma whimpered.  **“Sasori went hunting!”** The wolf Akuma yelled, flinching as the Level 3’s eyes whipped towards the scorpion. Within a second, they tackled the Akuma and started tearing off its legs. Your eyes widened as they screamed out profanities and you bit your lip. ‘If they keep going on like this, the soul inside will be destroyed!’ You glanced back to where your guardians hid. With a firm nod, you activated your Innocence and stood up.

Your eyes immediately met the disguised Akuma’s, and you felt a jolt of confusion when a happy and relieved expression appeared on its face. Tears welled up in its eyes and it fell to the ground. You frowned and shook your head, gathering power into your legs before jumping, rocketing towards the Level 3’s twenty meters away. You slammed into one of them, pushing it into another and you kicked them away. You flipped and landed in a crouch. You felt a sudden breeze shift your hair and you slammed your back and knees into the ground, narrowly missing a punch the remaining Level 3 swung at you.

You kicked up into the Akuma’s chin, sending it flying as a scorpion tail rushed to hit you. You rolled to the side, landing on your feet and you brought a leg up to your chin. You swung your foot into Sasori’s head, forcing the hard exoskeleton to break and deform under your heel. You jumped and twisted, kicking the Akuma’s head clean off. Its body exploded as you jumped away. **“It’s the rogue Exorcist!”** A Level 2 screeched as it zoomed towards you. **“Kill it!”** You sighed as three Level 2’s joined it in its attack and the temperature around your boots quickly rose. You raised your left leg and swung it down. “Waltz: Huǒyàn Wind!” You shouted and a giant tornado  of green fire blazed towards the group of Akuma. It dissipated a few moments later, and the Akuma that were once trapped in it disappeared. 

Suddenly, you felt your breath forcefully leave your body as if you were just punched and-

**Boom! Clang!**

Oh, you were punched. You groaned as you sat up from the metal poles, Pandora flapping worriedly above your head. Oh, that’s right. “Pandora,  _ Bang _ .” Pandora’s screen turned red as you stood up. The harsh piano notes floated out of the golem as the Level 3’s raced towards you. Your eyes widened and with a groan, you jumped, flying over them and slamming into the doll Akuma. Your feet had tore through its body, and in a split second, you swung yourself around, forcing the Akuma to turn its back to the Level 3’s. You freed one foot and kicked it in the head, forcing it to fly off your other foot and barrel into the group of Level 3’s. It exploded in their faces and you used that distraction to jump as far away from them as possible while not leaving the construction site.

_ “I get up, I get down, and I’m jumping around, and the rumpus and ruckus are comfortable now. Been a hell of a ride, but I’m thinkin’ it’s time to grow. Bang bang bang!” _

The wolf Akuma howled as it charged after you as you landed, sending swipe after swipe of sharp, poisonous claws to your head. You ducked and kicked your right heel square into its chest, kicking it back a couple steps. Immediately, you jumped again and kicked it once more with both feet. It flew back with a pained howl and you flipped over. Your feet touched the ground and you dropped to your hands as another Akuma attacked with a barrage of purple bullets. You swore and rolled out of fire.

_ “So I got an apartment across from the park, put quinoa in my fridge, still I’m not feelin’ grown. Been a hell of a ride, but I’m thinkin’ it’s time to go. Bang bang bang! (Here we go!)” _

Your head whipped to the side as you glanced around for the other Akuma. The wolf Level 2 snarled as it slowly stood up as the last three Level 2’s crowded together in a corner by the disguised Akuma. You pursed your lips. ‘Seems like I have to get rid of that shooter Akuma first, wherever it is.’ You attempted to peer out from behind the large rock you found, yet ducked as the bullet fire started back up again, barely missing your head.

_ “So put your best face on, everybody! Pretend you know this song, everybody! Come hang, let’s go out with a bang! Bang bang bang!” _

You gritted your teeth and raised an armored leg. The bullets rained down on it with soft clangs. You kicked to the side. “Waltz: Huǒyàn Wind!” A green tornado of flames charged towards the recovering wolf Akuma, and it screeched as it was destroyed. You breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Six down, eight more to go. Now, where’s those Level 3’s?’

_ “I’m way too young to lie here forever, I’m way too old to try, so whatever! Come hang, let’s go out with a bang! Bang bang bang!” _

**“Die!”** You cursed and rolled to the side as the Level 3 destroyed your hiding spot. The bullets started up again as you ran. You glanced back to try and spot the hidden Akuma, yet you were punched in the face from the Level 3 behind you. You snarled loudly and wrapped your legs around its arm and twisted. You were rewarded with a loud screech of pain as the arm fell off. It lunged again and you slammed your foot into its head and kicked it off. As it exploded, you placed your hands behind you and flipped. Once you landed, the remaining visible Level 2’s rushed you, screeching curses at you.

_ “Feel like I’m gonna puke, ‘cause my taxes are due. Do my password begin with a one or a two? Been a hell of a ride, but I’m thinkin’ it’s time to grow. Bang bang bang! (Metronome.)” _

You narrowed your eyes and rolled under the first one just as the bullets whizzed towards you. You slammed your heels into the fist of the second one and pushed up before rolling out of the way. The third one attacked as the first two slammed their fists into the ground and you kicked it to the side. “Waltz: Huǒyàn Wind!” The green fire appeared once more before engulfing the Akuma. However, one was left behind. It glared and screeched at you before pouncing as the other two Level 3’s floated closer. The bullets appeared again and you dropped to the ground, using the Level 2 to shield you. You swung your legs around and up and kicked the Akuma in the chest, sending it into the Level 3’s. The two Akuma snarled and tried untangling themselves from the lower level as you popped up. The bullets had ceased once more, and you used this moment of reprieve to search for the missing Level 2.

“The building!” You blinked and glanced at the disguised Akuma. It pointed to the semi finished building. “It’s in there!” It choked as bullets ripped its disguise apart, revealing its true form. You narrowed your eyes at the building and jumped towards it.

_ “Man, I’m up to something. Ooh-dee-la-dee-doh. Thank you all for coming, I hope you like the show, ‘cause it’s on a budget! So ooh-dee-la-dee-doh yeah, come on here we go, yeah, come on! (Here we go!) So put your best face on, everybody! Pretend you know this song, everybody! Come hang! Let’s go out with a bang! Bang bang bang!” _

You flew through the open doorway and raced towards the stairs, jumping up a couple stories. ‘The Akuma is acting like a sniper; the bullets are coming from a high angle, so that means it’s probably up here somewhere.’ You landed and raced through the five story building, opening doors quietly but swiftly. You heard a click from your left as you opened a door and with wide eyes, you jumped through as bullets shot passed the open door.

_ “I’m way too young to lie here forever, I’m way too old to try, so whatever! Come hang! Let’s go out with a bang! Bang bang bang! Bang bang bang! Been a hell of a ride, but I’m thinkin’ it’s time to go.” _

As soon as the bullets stopped, you shot through the open door and into another hallway, hoping the sniper Akuma was following. You heard mechanical gears grinding against each other and you ran into a room, slamming the door closed. A moment later, you heard the machine gun start once more as the Akuma cursed loudly. **“Damn you!”** Once the Akuma paused to allow its weapon to cool, you sprang out from your hiding spot and slammed into the Akuma. 

_ “So put your best face on, everybody. Pretend you know this song, everybody. Come hang. Let’s go out with a bang. Bang bang bang! (Here we go!)” _

The machine gun sticking out of its chest whirred frantically before you slammed a foot into it, kicking it clean off and allowing it to fall to the ground. You shoved your foot into the Level 2 and flipped, tearing through the metal. It exploded and you ran to a window, jumping through and rocketing towards the last three Akuma. 

_ “So put your best face on, everybody! Pretend you know this song, everybody! Come hang! Let’s go out with a bang! Bang bang bang! _

With a battle cry, you roundhouse kicked the remaining Level 2 through the chest, tearing it in two. You landed into a crouch and rolled away from the explosion. The Level 3 roared as it swung a powerful punch at you, and you sidestepped the attack. You raised your leg and spun to gain more speed, swinging it around in a roundhouse kick and slamming it into its head. You quickly pushed off your other leg and wrapped your legs around its neck. You twisted and kicked the head to the other Akuma before jumping away. The Akuma exploded in-between you two, and the Level 3 came barreling through the smoke with a cry. You raised a leg as the Akuma slammed into you, letting its momentum make it spear itself onto your leg. You kicked it off as it exploded.

_ “I’m way too young to lie here forever, I’m way too old to try, so whatever! Come hang! Let’s go out with a bang! Bang bang bang! (Here we go!) Bang bang!” _

You panted as you relaxed onto the hard ground. “You guys can come out now!” You called out and slowly sat up. You faced the disguised Akuma with a blank expression as your guardians crept out. It shuffled closer as it adjusted its ripped kimono. “Wait,” Present Mic muttered as he and Aizawa cautiously walked closer to you, “There’s one left?” You stood up as the Akuma hissed in pain while it held its bleeding arm. You winced both in sympathy and at the harsh reminder of the Noahs through the black color of the blood. You stepped closer to it. 

“Aleah, what are you doing?” Aizawa called softly. “Isn’t that an Akuma?”

“You know, there is a way to keep Akuma from killing humans.” Your guardians froze. “Though, like everything, it comes at a price. One of our generals figured out a way to prevent Akuma from killing. He is, unfortunately, the only one who can remodify an Akuma, and he’s supposedly dead.” You glanced back at them. “When an Akuma is created, the Earl brings back a soul from the afterlife and traps it into the base of an Akuma. He then forces the soul to kill the person who called them, and from then on, the Akuma disguises themselves with the human corpse and kills. The more they kill, the more they level up. The more they level up, the more the soul inside is corrupted and destroyed. If a Noah orders the Akuma to self-destruct, the soul will be destroyed instantly.” You returned your gaze back to the Akuma. “The general learned how to remodify the Akuma to the point they’ll be able to ignore the order of the Earl to a point. When they reach their breaking point, they give into their bloodlust and self-destruct.”

You heard a sharp intake from Present Mic as you placed a gentle hand on the Akuma’s shoulder. “But, they only live for about three months, maybe four if they’re strong. General Cross has been presumed dead for six months,” The hand on its shoulder tightened instinctively, “He’s alive, isn’t he?”

The Akuma slowly nodded, lowering its gaze. “How long have you been remodified?” 

“About two months. Please, Master Exorcist,” It grabbed your shoulders gently and looked up with tears in its eyes, “Set me free. I’m going to go soon, I don’t want to disappear! I don’t-I don’t-” You rubbed your hand on its shoulder, cutting it off. “What’s your name?” It tilted its head. “Which-Which one?”

“Your original name, before you became an Akuma.”

“It-It’s Aiko. I was called b-back by my sister, Aiya.” You nodded and slid your arms around it slowly and gently. Once it relaxed into your arms, you rubbed its back. “I have to apologize, my Innocence doesn’t give a clean cut. You’ll suffer.” It nodded. “I know, and I’m fine with it. I’d rather be purified by someone like you than an unemotional Exorcist.” You winced at that. You, admittedly, were one of them, before you met Allen. Though, you had a little sympathy for the Akuma before you met your brother. “Please, I want to see my sister again.” You hugged her tighter. “Of course. Now, I have to warn you, it’ll hurt. A lot, and I mean it. You’ll suffer until the Innocence infects you fully.” It shifted out of your hug and looked you straight in the eye. “I’m fine with that. It’s better than crumbling into nothing when I finally do self-destruct.”

You nodded and stepped back. “Alright, Aiko. You ready?” It nodded and pointed to the star in the middle of its forehead. “Hit me right here.” You squinted your eyes in confusion. “Hit me in the place **_He_** marked me as a _slave_.” You nodded and gave it a small smile. “Alright. Goodnight Aiko. I hope you find your family.” It closed its eyes with a faint smile and you raised your leg. With one deep breath, you shot your leg out. It tore through Aiko’s forehead, and it exploded. You stepped back as a breeze shifted your hair.

A hand landed on your shoulder. You turned to see Aizawa staring at the spot the Akuma stood at. “You did good.” He nodded at you and started walking away. “You’ll be a great Hero one day, if you’ll let yourself be one.” You felt tears well up in your eyes and you slowly, hesitantly smiled a soft smile.

You ran after him and Present Mic, quickly snatching the torn kimono up as you went. You’ll give the pair of siblings a proper final goodbye with this. Just as you reached their sides, a figure grumbled under their breath on top of a building nearby and disappeared back into the shadows. You didn’t notice.

* * *

_ “Last night, police were given several anonymous calls about another attack from the shapeshifting monsters hiding in Japan from two different locations. One, near a small diner, and another several miles north. The first one, according to the police, was reporting a victim’s remains. Once they arrived, they found a pile of clothes and a cloud of poisonous gas and dust slowly dispersing. They contained the gas and searched through the pile of clothes for any I.D. The family of Agaki Shi have been given the remains for a proper funeral late this morning. _

_ “The second call was reporting a series of gunshots and explosions in a construction site a few miles from Agaki Shi’s final moments. When police finally arrived on the scene, they found a large cloud of gas, deadlier than the one found with Agaki, with several piles of ash and pieces of metal scattered about. They have theorized that this was the hiding place of a large number of the monsters, and was swiftly taken care of by the mysterious fighter from the airport a few months ago. Thankfully, there have been no more remains located in the crime scene since the police have released this, and both the construction site and the area around Agaki’s crime scene have been quarantined until further notice. Police have contained the gas in the area in hopes of preventing more people from dying.” _

“WHAT?!” You screeched as you jumped up from your position on the floor. You ran your hands through your hair as Aizawa and Hizashi entered the room hurriedly. “What? What’s going on?!” Your blond guardian cried and you turned to them. “They contained the gas! That’s not good!” Aizawa turned back to the T.V. with a frown. “We need to let it disperse naturally in order to get rid of it!” 

“To be fair,” Aizawa said, eyes returning to your frantic gaze, “They didn’t even know about the Akuma being a thing until recently. They wouldn’t have known that.” You groaned and pulled small locks of your hair. “I know that!” Hizashi turned to Aizawa. “We can head over and destroy it, or order for it to be taken down?” He shook his head. “We can’t have it be taken down, they’re going to need a reason and we can’t just tell them about Aleah. We’re going to have to destroy whatever they’re using to contain the gas.” You opened your eyes. “Does that mean more sneaking around in the night?” A grin slowly spread across your face as Aizawa sighed loudly.

“Unfortunately, yes.” You cheered and hopped from foot to foot. “Why are you so happy about this?” Aizawa groaned as he rubbed his temples. “Going out that late would mean less sleep.”

You let out a laugh and shrugged. “I don’t know, doing it at night is a lot of fun! It adds a bit of mystery and excitement behind it!”

Hizashi grinned at you as Aizawa left the room, heading for the kitchen. “You should get dressed soon!” He called over his shoulder. You cocked your head to the side. “Why?” You looked down at your body. You were wearing a red tank top with grey yoga pants covering your bare legs. “Are we going out?” Hizashi nodded as he crossed his arms. “Yup! We realized during your panic attack at the Sports Festival,” You cringed slightly at that, “That you’re going to need something to help you get through your PTSD. We honestly should’ve thought of this sooner, but we were kinda preoccupied. A lame excuse, I know, sorry about that. So, today, we’re going to go out and get a couple things that should help you!” He clapped his hands together with a large smile as Aizawa came back into the living room with a cup of coffee.

“We finally got an answer to a question we sent out right after we got back, so we’ll be heading over to a friend of ours at 3:26.” You glanced between them. “I really don’t like how you both are being so secretive right now. Should I be worried?” You say and Hizashi immediately shook his head as Aizawa sighed, taking a sip from his mug. “Oh, no no! It’s just supposed to be a surprise! Take it as a gift from us!” You raised your eyebrows. “Alright…” 

You leave the room and head upstairs to change.

* * *

Aizawa parked the car in a small parking lot. You all unbuckled and climbed out of the car. You stretched a little as you followed Hizashi and Aizawa into a small shop. As soon as your eyes adjusted to the light change, they widened. “Trees..? What?” You muttered as a plump lady appeared out of nowhere, summoned by the bell above the door. “Oh, hello!” She walked forward and shook Hizashi’s outstretched hand. “Welcome!” She turned to Aizawa, and he hesitantly shook her hand. You continued staring at the trees around you in bewilderment as she tried to gain your attention. It didn’t work.

With a huff, she turned back to your guardians and you inched away from them, desperate to explore the store you were trapped in for the next twenty minutes or so. Your attention was snapped back to them with a few snaps of fingers in your face, and you whipped your gaze around to meet Aizawa’s. With a sigh, he lowered his hand. “Do you know why we’re here?” You squinted and cocked your head to the side, shaking your head. “This store sells bonsai trees. Caring for bonsai trees can help some people with PTSD. We’re hoping it’ll help you, and if it doesn’t, we’ll just give it to All Might and continue looking for ways to help cope with it.” You hummed and nodded slowly. “Now, you’ll have to pick out a pot first,” The woman said gently to you. Her earlier annoyance had disappeared, “The pots are all over here.” She said and led your small group to a back corner.

You whistled as you stared at the pots. All of them were beautiful, but not one resembled another. One was ginormous with seashells carved on its outside, it’s diameter about the length of your arm, and another was small and covered in a beautiful forest. “Who exactly made these?”

“My husband.” You turned to her. “Respect. I’m not sure how long it took to make these, but they must’ve taken a long time,” You gently pick up a small pot color of the sun. It had little shapes painted on it, and you peered closer and noticed all of them were celestial bodies, “He did an amazing job on all of them!” The woman smiled at you. “Thank you.” You returned it, and a hand pushed you forward gently. You glanced behind you to see Aizawa’s retreating hand shove itself back into his pocket. “Well? What are you waiting for?” He gestured to the pots with his head. “Get going.” You shakily nodded and placed the small pot back down and walked through the isles. You hummed as you slowly walked, taking in all the different colors, shapes, and sizes the pots came in while Hizashi and Aizawa followed a few feet away.

Hmm, what to choose, what to choose..That one? No, doesn’t call out to you..That one? Hmm, maybe. You huffed as you stopped in an isle, crossing your arms with a frown. Which one should you choose? It was so hard! Why was this hard?! “You know,” Hizashi started, “You could just randomly pick one?” You groaned and shook your head. “If I’m going to get a home for a living thing and take care of it, I’d rather get something that plucks a chord with me.” You said and continued hunting. You turned the corner and paused. There was something in the corner of your eye, begging for you to look at it. You glanced to your right.

There, sat a medium sized pot painted with a dark, almost black red. There were little rubies sticking out of the stone in a pattern, and when you picked it up for a closer look, your eyes widened. They were in the shape of butterflies. Your anklets shifted slightly and you let out a small laugh. “Of course I’m going to find something that looks like my Boots,” You muttered as Hizashi and Aizawa stepped closer. You turned to them and gently presented it to them, “I guess I found my pot?” You say with a small grin. They smiled back at you and led the way back to the shopkeeper. She appeared exactly where you left her, and as you all walked closer, her eyes widened.

“Ah, so YOU’RE the little lost butterfly my husband told me about!” Your eyes squinted and you cocked your head to the side. “Say what now?” She clapped her hands together as your guardians tensed. “It’s my husband’s quirk,” She said with a smile, “It’s kinda hard to explain, but it gives him prophetic dreams. Normally, he gets them a few months to a year in advance before the symbol in his dreams appears in our lives. When he gets them, he bases these pots off of different people depending on what their symbolic object in his dream was. For you, you were a dark red butterfly, almost black, who was trying to find your way home while fighting hideous monsters on the way. All of these pots are for one person we’ll eventually meet,” She gestured to the pots behind you, “He makes the pots to catch the eye of the person he saw in his dreams. ” She gently grabbed the pot from you and started walking to the counter in the back. You blinked and slowly followed her, glancing back at the two men behind you. They looked just as confused as you felt.

“Okay then,” You muttered as she placed the pot on the counter. She then disappeared behind a mini forest of trees with instructions to stay put. You hummed and pulled out your string, leaning against Aizawa as your fingers dutifully went through the motions of a  _ Cats n’ Cradle _ trick. You felt him shift and tense, and you, not knowing if he was uncomfortable or not, paused at the cat whiskers and raised your hands to your face. You looked up at him with a shit eating grin, causing him to raise his eyebrows, stood up on your tiptoes and rubbed your cheek against his shoulder. “Meow!” He rolled his eyes with a snort and suddenly, a hand was in your hair, ruffling it up. You let out a yelp and quickly dropped the string in order to save your hair from the torment it was subjected to.

Hizashi snickered at you as you fought against the offending hand. You stepped away from him and glared up at the dark haired man. “Why?” He shrugged and you sighed, stooping to pick up your temporary forgotten string. “You’re mean.” He lightly swatted your head as you stood up, and you let out a yelp as the shopkeeper returned with a bonsai tree in hand. “Alright, here you go,” She said as she rang up the pot and the tree, bending a little to reach under the counter. She stood up with a book in her hand and handed it to you, “Here’s a guide on caring for your bonsai tree! Do you folks need any help carrying it to your car?” You grabbed the pot carefully and placed the book inside while smiling at the shopkeeper. “Nope, thank you, though!” Hizashi grabbed the plastic box-like container for the baby tree and you left the shop.

Aizawa opened the trunk of the car for you, and you slid the semi heavy pot inside. Hizashi quickly and carefully placed the tree inside the pot before you could slam the large door shut, and you all climbed back into the car. “What time is it? I don’t have my phone.” You say as you buckle your seatbelt. Hizashi glanced at the clock. “1:00. Let’s go get some food before heading over to the shelter!” Aizawa sighed as he placed his hands on the steering wheel. “Ooh, let’s get fast food!” You cry as you grab Aizawa’s seat and shake it as much as you could. “Please?” 

Aizawa groaned as he placed his forehead against the top of the steering wheel while you and Hizashi tag-teamed on screaming your preferred food for lunch into his ears.

* * *

You sipped on your milkshake quietly as you watched the scenery go by. There, admittedly, wasn’t a lot to see other than cars and the occasional tree on the side of the highway, but you made due. As Hizashi loudly sang along to the radio and Aizawa groaned at his volume, you tuned them out and thought. Everytime a car would pass you, you would briefly wonder where the people inside were going before quickly going back to the mindless daze the ride put you in. You finished your milkshake and placed it into a cupholder.

You closed your eyes for a second, and something shoved you harshly. You shot up with a gasp, Innocence spinning wildly around your ankles, and your hand shot out, grabbing onto something soft and long and pulled. A pained yelp caused you to look to your side and you immediately let go. Hizashi clambered out from the open doorway, clutching his head as he gave you a betrayed look. He was still screaming, but thankfully he had closed his mouth to muffle his screams. You covered your mouth with one hand and your eyes met Aizawa’s amused gaze. He had hidden his mouth behind a hand to hide his growing smile, and you let out a few giggles. Hizashi’s eyes widened and he gestured wildly at you with one hand. You unbuckled your seatbelt and climbed out of the car.

“Sorry,” You say through giggles. Hizashi glared at you before removing his hand from his head and finally quieting his screams. You slammed the car door shut as he wordlessly turned and walked towards a large building. You turned to Aizawa and shrugged sheepishly. He ruffled your hair and followed his fellow Hero. You jogged to catch up with him, and you followed Hizashi into the building. “So, what are we doing here again?” You ask as you glance around the lobby.

It was mostly plain looking, reminding you of a waiting room in a hospital with the chairs lining the walls and a desk directly in front of you. The walls were beige with random posters here and there taped to the wall, and behind the desk was a door and a billboard. It was covered with papers and ads. Hizashi was already at the desk talking to someone, and in a moment a woman popped up and left the room. He walked back to you and Aizawa. “Alright, we can just take a seat anywhere while we wait!” Aizawa immediately plopped down in the nearest seat and let out a loud groan. You giggled and leaned against the wall next to him as Hizashi sat down on his other side. A few minutes later, the woman returns with a short man and sits down. Hizashi and Aizawa stand up as the man beckons you over. He stepped out from behind the desk and shared a hug with Hizashi.

“Hello again, Hizashi! Long time no see!” He said as they separated and briefly shook Aizawa’s hand. He turned to you with a small smile while Aizawa grumbled under his breath. “Is she..?”   
  
“Yes, she is,” Aizawa replied curtly, “You said you have several dogs available?” You squinted your eyes at him in confusion. ‘What is he talking about?’ The man clapped his hands. “Yes, we do! Only a handful, though, and one of them is fully trained.” Wait, are they..? They are, aren’t they? Crap, what are you going to do with a dog? He held out his hand to you with a smile, “Oh, I should probably introduce myself!” His blue gaze pierced into your (e/c) eyes. They flicked over your body, as if looking for any cracks in your nonexistent armor. “I’m Jackson Kaleb, pleasure to meet you! You’re Walker Aleah, correct?” You slowly nodded and hesitantly shook his hand. 

“Hello?” Kaleb beamed at you and led you through the door. “Where are you from?” He asked as you passed by rooms with large windows in the walls. You peered into each one to see animals segregated into breeds and beds in each room you pass by. One room had a small  group of people petting and looking around at the golden retrievers that the shelter had. “England. You?”

“America! So, do you know what’s going on? You kinda looked confused back there..” You glanced back at your guardians. Aizawa stared straight ahead, looking somewhere above your head while Hizashi avoided your gaze. “Not exactly. I do believe we’re getting a dog, though.” 

“Not we, you.” Aizawa cut in and you squinted your eyes at him before turning back around. “So yeah, I have no idea what’s going on.” Kaleb hummed. “Well, this shelter takes in animals from strays to pets that have been abandoned or left behind by dead owners. That includes service dogs. Those clowns behind us,” You heard a soft groan and fought a smile from tugging at your lips. Kaleb didn’t even try, “Decided that you needed a service dog that specializes in PTSD without telling you. We’ve got a few, but like I said earlier, only one is fully trained. You can pick which one you want, as long as they like you and your guardians, of course.” You nodded with a blank smile. This is..not going to go well, is it? Kaleb finally stopped at a door and turned to you three. “So, this is where they are.” He turned the doorknob and opened it. He let your small group go in first, and you stepped into a smallish room.

Five dogs with vests sat quietly in a line with a human holding a leash besides them. All the dogs turned to look at you briefly before glancing around the room. You let out a small sound and started to lean against Aizawa as Kaleb closed the door behind you. He walked around you and stopped in front of the dog handlers. “Hey, everybody! This is Walker Aleah, she’s our client for today.” They all gave you various greetings and you returned them with a small smile. You continued staring at the dogs. “Walker? Mind coming here?” You looked up and at Kaleb’s gesture, you walked closer to the dogs. "So, while you get situated with the dogs, I'm going to bring down the necessary paperwork you all need to sign."

‘Is this really necessary?’ You thought as he instructed you to sit down. You sat down and crossed your legs. You sighed harshly and plopped your chin onto your hand. This might take a while..

* * *

You stared into the blue eyes of the black and white husky. You blinked, and the husky copied your movements. You tilted backwards and glanced at Aizawa with a raised eyebrow. You turned back to the dog when his face hardened in some sort of commanding expression and swallowed. “Walker?” You turned your attention to the person holding the leash, crouching nearby. He smiled at you once you met his gaze. “This is Aithusa. She came here with her previous owner from America, and she was given to us when her owner died at a hospital. She’s also the only fully trained dog here. I am aware that your symptoms are vastly different from her previous owner’s, so it’s going to be a bit weird for her to adjust to what you need.” He reached out a hand and placed it on Aithusa’s head. She didn’t react, while all the other dogs had tried to get him to give them more pets. “But, since she’s fully trained, it’ll be easier to train her to match your episodes. Plus, she’s the only one who can follow you into public transportations and spaces, like school or a restaurant, at this time. I highly recommend adopting her.” You nodded slowly.

He stood up and you followed suit, quickly backing up away from the dogs and turned to your guardians. Your face felt pinched as you stepped closer to them and murmured lowly. “Is this really necessary? What am I going to do with a dog? I can’t have one during class, and I doubt anyone will be able to watch them for me. Plus, I can’t have them with me while I hunt! They might get hurt! I-” Aizawa placed a hand on your shoulder. “Aleah, you’re starting to panic.” You were? You blinked and shifted your attention to your heartbeat and breathing. Oh, that’s not good. Both were fast. “Take deep breaths and clear your mind.”

He started taking deep breaths, and you tried to match his pace. A pair of paws appeared on your arm, but you ignored it. A few minutes later, your heartbeat had slowed down, and your breathing was finally normal. You glanced away from Aizawa’s eyes and instead met the blue eyes of the only husky dog. You flinched and grunted in surprise. The man from earlier grinned widely from behind Aithusa, holding her leash. “She alerted once she recognized the signs of a panic attack,” He explained as Aithusa plopped down, “The other dogs didn’t, so I guess you’re kinda stuck with this one!” He handed the leash to you and walked off, leaving you to whip your head around and stare into Aizawa’s eyes with a bewildered expression. He shrugged and walked out of the room. You moved your gaze to a snickering Hizashi as your phone buzzed.

“What am I supposed to do with her?” You ask quietly and pull out your phone. Another message from Midoriya. You turned your phone off and shoved it back into your pocket. “You can leave her home when you hunt, and you can have the teacher or another student watch over her during training sessions?” He shrugged and patted your shoulder. “Don’t worry! Everything will be fine!”

* * *

Everything is not fine.

The constant, quick clicks and clacks from a keyboard echoed in the small, nearly empty room. The only lightsource in the small room was from the dozens of computers attached to the wall, seemingly stacked on top of each other. A soft voice muttered under its breath in frustration as a woman sat typing furiously.

Her long, dark green hair, illuminated from the light, draped over her shoulders from her pigtails while her violet eyes flicked from one end of the screen to the other. She bit her lip and a knock echoed through the room. “Hey, Lenalee? Can I come in?” A man called out, and the woman yelled out an affirmative. The door behind her opened and a man with sandy blond hair and a lab coat entered, holding a box and a step stool. He gazed at the ceiling with annoyance. “I got your call,” He started as he set down the box and opened the two step ladder, “The bulb went out again, just like that?”   
  
“Yup,” The woman groaned as she continued typing away. The man peered over her shoulder to look at the only working computer screen as he fished a flashlight out from one of his many pockets. “Still not working, Lenalee?” Lenalee sighed and shook her head. “Nope, how about up there?” The man turned on the flashlight. “Still static. Man, those hackers really damaged our systems. Wonder how they managed to do that..” He climbed the ladder and started unscrewing the exposed light bulb. It had shattered along with its glass cover, leaving shards on the floor that had yet to be picked up.

“Well, we’ll find out once we get the computers up and running,” Lenalee muttered softly, “How are the other scientists holding up, Reever?” He hummed and stepped off the ladder, placing the broken bulb on the table to the left of Lenalee. “I’m not quite sure..I think they’ve all decided to stop talking about Allen in fear of starting fights and getting in trouble with the CROW’s.” Lenalee cracked a small smile. “They still believe in him, though?” Reever grinned as he opened the box. “Oh, most definitely. I’m pretty sure the Asian branch still supports him, as well. Too bad we can’t show it nowadays.” Lenalee hummed as she nodded.

Suddenly, the lines of code disappeared. She let out a yelp at the sudden darkness that greeted her. She heard Reever stumble at her scream and cursed loudly. “You okay?” She called out, turned until she could see his flashlight. Reever bit his lip to stop his mouth from cursing without his consent as he rubbed his toe. “Just..peachy.” Lenalee slapped a hand to her mouth and giggled. “Sorry..” Reever shook his hand at her. “It’s alright! What happened?” Her hand dropped away and she turned to the computers. Each one had turned completely black, and Lenalee groaned and leaned back into her chair. “That’s the tenth time that happened in the past three hours..”

Reever whistled as he walked closer to her, placing a hand on her chair to lean closer. “Damn, they really put a number on us..How long has it been since the computers went out again?”

“Almost six days,” Lenalee groaned, “Ever since the Sports Festival over in Japan.” She raised her hand to the ceiling and made a fist. “At some point, I will break that virus and hunt down those damn hackers. They’ll wish they never learned how to hack once I’m through with them.” Lenalee growled and Reever chuckled nervously. “You really are vicious when you want to be, huh? No wonder people are afraid of Aleah around here; she learned it from you!” Lenalee smirked and sat up, shrugging. “What can I say? Children pick up things from adults around them, especially when they look up to them.” The man next to her let out a laugh and stepped away from her, turning back to the still broken light. 

“You should take a break. I know you’ve been working hard since the siblings left,” Reever said softly as he climbed the ladder once more, and Lenalee rubbed her face with both of her hands, “You haven’t gotten much rest recently, have you?” Lenalee sighed and shook her head. “Honestly, no. The situation with Allen has been so stressful on everybody, I’d be surprised if everyone hadn’t had bad sleep since he left. And it doesn’t help that we have yet to spot Aleah with him whenever we get a glimpse of him.”

“Yeah, that is pretty strange,” Reever replied as he screwed in the new lightbulb, “Do you think they split up?”

“If they did, then it was probably Allen’s choice. Aleah would never want to be separated from him.” Reever nodded and stepped off the step stool once more, walking over to the light switch. “Watch your eyes.” Lenalee covered her eyes and he flipped the switch. Light flooded the room and he shoved his hands into his pockets. “Welp, the light’s fixed. Do you know how it broke?” Lenalee opened her eyes and shook her head. “It was like that when I got here. Must've been someone's quirk going out of conrol. Thank you, for fixing it.” Reever leaned against the door frame. “No problem! Now, let’s get some food, yeah? I bet you’re starving.”

Lenalee smiled at him. “Yeah, I am.” She shifted and pressed a button on the arm of her chair, and she moved back with a mechanical whir. Reever watched as she positioned her wheelchair to face him. He winced at the sight of her broken legs, but shook it off before she could see his expression. It has been about a decade since she’s been confined to the wheelchair..

“Let’s go!” Lenalee replied with a bright smile and guided her wheelchair forward. Reever rushed to open the door and slipped out. Once she passed through, Reever reached in and turned the light off, bathing the room in darkness and closed the door after him.

A few minutes passed as they headed to the mess hall, and a single computer screen turned on. Written in Japanese, a message quickly wrote itself out before translating into English.

**_DATA RECOVERED. ALL SYSTEMS TURNING ON. EXORCIST NUMBER 5903 HAS BEEN LOCATED._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooo, i planned to add in Aleah destroying the equipment the police set up to contain the gas from the Akuma in this chapter, but my writing just took control of me again. whoops. i'm not particularly happy with a few moments in this chapter, but my sibling insisted that it was fine, so i'm taking their word for it. i hope you all liked this chapter, and i'll see you all next week! you're all AWESOME! XP
> 
> *edit* i completely forgot to mention this, but for those of you who are not fans of D.Gray Man, we finally see the character Aleah replaces! unfortunately, the war did take a huge toll on her..


	10. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> song: Boss Bitch by Doja Cat

You stood outside the classroom, pulling at your fingers. Aithusa waited patiently at your side as you debated with yourself, decked in her service dog vest. You could hear your classmates talking to one another through the door, and you bit your lip. Should you go in? You sucked in a deep breath and gathered all your courage. You were going to go into that room, no matter how much your mind wants you to turn and run away!

You placed a hand on the door handle and slid it open. Immediately, all chatter stopped and you stepped in. Aithusa trotted by your side as you headed to your desk, and you held her leash tighter while you avoided your classmates’s gazes. You sat down, and Aithusa laid down next to you as close as possible. She laid her head down on her paws and you followed suit, plopping your head into your crossed arms. Thanks to how quiet the room was, you could clearly hear the moment Aizawa stepped into the room. “Morning.” Those who were standing and mingling together rushed to their seats with thudding footsteps. “GOOD MORNING MR. AIZAWA.” You groaned quietly and sat up. 

Aizawa walked to his desk. “Ribbit, Mr. Aizawa, you don’t have bandages anymore! That’s good news!” You agreed quietly. Aizawa raised his hand and started scratching his face. “The old lady went a little overboard in her treatment.” He muttered. “Anyways, we have a big class today on Hero Informatics.” You narrowed your eyes and tilted your head to the side as your classmates silently panicked. “You need code names.” The entire class slumped in their seats and groaned in relief. You let out a snort and plopped your chin in your hand. “Time to pick your Hero identities.” Suddenly, the students around you jumped up with loud cheers as their relief shifted into excitement. Aizawa glared at the class and activated his quirk, and within seconds the students who had jumped out of their seats shot down into them.

“This is related to the Pro Hero draft picks that I mentioned the last time we were in class together. Normally students don’t have to worry about the draft yet, not until their second or third year, actually, but your class is different.” The corners of your lips tugged upward in an amused smirk. You couldn’t exactly tell if he was exasperated or actually angry over that fact. You decided it was a little bit of both. “In fact, by extending offers to first years like you, Pros are essentially investing in your potential. Any offers can be rescinded if their interest in you dies down before graduation.” You heard a thunk from your left and you whipped your head around. Mineta grumbled under his breath. “Stupid, selfish adults.” You huffed out a quiet laugh. ‘Well, look who’s calling the kettle black?’

You rubbed your face with the hand you were leaning on as your guardian picked up a remote and pushed a button. You closed your eyes as your classmates freaked out over the amount of offers they gained. You were admittedly already informed of this; Aizawa had given you a basic rundown of how the drafting system worked and what the day would look like while you sat in the teacher’s lounge. At some point, Midnight will step in and take over when the actual choosing of Hero names starts and you guessed Aizawa will take a nap when she does..

“Midoriya, you’ve got none!” Wait, what? “I bet everyone was really grossed out by the crazy way you were fighting!” You turned your gaze to the teen in shock. You don’t quite remember what happened after his fight with Todoroki, but you were informed that he had witnessed your panic attack in Recovery Girl’s office. He turned his head over to you with an uncomfortable expression while Mineta mercilessly pointed out something that may or may not be true. His gaze met yours. You quickly glanced away with a small squeak, blinking quickly to try and hold back the tears pricking your eyes. Embarrassment crawled up from your spine and settled across your face. And that was why you weren’t responding to any of their texts. _They all witnessed your breakdown._

Aithusa raised her head and glanced at you. You managed to give the dog a small, shaky smile and reached down to give her a few scratches behind the ears. She blinked at you and yawned, whining as she lowered her head. A few of your classmates turned at the sound and gazed down at her. You sunk slowly in your seat.

“Despite these results, you’ll all be interning with Pros. Got it? Even those of you who didn’t get any offers.” You slowly leaned forward and hid your face in your arms, pretending to disappear from the world. You could still feel a gaze on you, burning holes into your skin. Your anklets started spinning around your ankles slightly. “These Hero names will likely be temporary, but take them seriously or-”

The door opened suddenly, and you raised your head. 

“You’ll have hell to pay later!” Midnight walked through the door and closed it behind her with a giant smirk on her face. You rested your right cheek against your arm and watched her as she walked towards Aizawa. “What you pick today could be your code name for life. You better be careful, or else you’ll be stuck with something utterly indecent!” You felt a small smile pull at your lips. Things were going to get fun around here. “Yeah, she’s got a good point.” Aizawa added. His eyes traveled to you before flicking around the room. “Midnight is going to have final approval over your names,” He bent down and grabbed a stack of white boards and markers, along with his sleeping bag, “It’s not my forte.” He handed the stack of boards to Midnight before walking over to a corner and slipping into his sleeping bag. He fell asleep as soon as he laid down. Midnight took his place and gave the class a devilish smile.

“The name you choose is important. It helps reinforce your image and shows what kind of Hero you want to be in the future.” You bit your lip as you thought. This is going to be hard, isn’t it? “A code name tells people exactly what you represent. Take All Might for example,” Midnight said as she started passing the boards around. Koda turned around and handed you a whiteboard and marker. You sat up and placed them down on your desk. You heard markers uncap and squeak against the boards all around you while you stared blankly at your board. You’ve been thinking of this since Aizawa first told you, and you still couldn’t think of anything.

A few minutes passed, and you found yourself still staring at the board. “Now students, who among you is ready to share?” ..Shit. A flash of fear shot through you as realization dawned on you. _You don’t know how to write in japanese that well._ You bit your lip and glanced up at Midnight. She avoided your gaze as Kirishima voiced your shared fear...You guess you’ll cross that bridge eventually. As whispers erupted in the classroom, Aoyama stood up and walked to the podium. He slowly flipped his board up. “Hold your breath! The Shining Hero; my name is I cannot stop twinkling!” 

You slapped a hand over your mouth as you tried to muffle your giggles. You should’ve seen that coming, you really, really should’ve. It was just, so Aoyama! Midnight immediately grabbed the board from him and started fixing things. When she was done, his Hero name was reduced to “Can’t stop twinkling”. Aoyama’s smile widened and he almost squealed in happiness. He walked back to his seat as Mina bounced up and towards the podium. “Okeidokie, let me go next!” She slammed her board onto the wood with a smile and-oh. It was in japanese...Fuck. “My code name; Alien Queen!” Midnight made a face and quickly shot it down. Mina returned to her seat slowly.

“Ribbit, I think I’ve got one! Okay if I go next?” Tsuyu raised her hand up and Midnight immediately nodded. “Come on up!” She walked up and quickly presented her Hero name. “I’ve had this name in mind since grade school. Rainy Season Hero; Froppy!” You cracked a grin at her, mentally cooing over the adorable name she gave herself. You turned back to your own board as everyone started cheering loudly. You smiled and picked up your marker, twirling it around in your hand as you thought.

“I’ve got mine, too! The Sturdy Hero; my name is Red Riot!” Kirishima yelled loudly.

“The Hearing Hero; I’m Earphone Jack!”

“The Tentacle Hero; Tentacole.”

“The Taping Hero; Cellophane.”

“Martial Arts Hero; Tail-Man!

“I’m the Sweets Hero; Sugarman!”

“PINKY!” That one made you laugh quietly.

“Stun Gun Hero; I am Chargebolt! Electric, don’t you think?”

“The Stealth Hero; Invisible Girl!”  
  
“I hope that I can live up to this name. The Everything Hero; I’m Creati.”

“Shouto..” You raised your head at that and gave Todoroki a confused expression before shrugging and turning back to your own board. It was still blank.

“Jet black Hero; Tsukuyomi!”

“I’m the Fresh Picked Hero; Grape Juice!” You cringed at Mineta. Why did that sound so dirty coming from him?

“King Explosion Murder.” You froze, eyes wide. You slowly turned your gaze from your board to Bakugou. After a minute, your shoulders started shaking and you fought a smile from capturing your lips once more. If he saw you laughing, _he’ll kill you_..Little giggles escaped your lips and you bit your lower lip, hugging your stomach to try and stop the trembling. You were going to fail, weren’t you? ..Yup, you were. Oh well, _here we go_. You opened your mouth and loud guffaws left you. The tears that were welling up in your eyes from your concentration streamed down your face and you clutched your stomach. Bakugou growled at you. “Oi! What the hell are you laughing at, Pigtails?! I’ll kill you, you shitty extra!” 

“I’d like to see you try, you overgrown Pomeranian!” You retort back, holding onto your desk for dear life. Bakugou exploded in anger. For some reason, it felt like the strange weight in the air that was muted from all the excitement disappeared as you laughed. You didn’t notice most of your classmates sigh in relief as they watched you go back to your usual self. As Bakugou yelled at your classmates that joined in on your teasing, Uraraka stood up and walked to the podium. She hugged her board close to her chest as she waited for Bakugou to sit back down. When he finally did, she shyly stood in front of the whole class. “This is the name I thought of,” You covered your mouth to stifle the giggles from Bakugou’s name and tried to be respectful to her. She smiled at you in appreciation, “Uravity!” She sighed in relief when Midnight approved of it. The Pro Hero glanced at the clock and hummed while Uraraka returned to her seat.

“To be honest, choosing names is going faster than I thought it would. All we have left is Young Bakugou, who needs to rethink his, aaaand Iida! Oh yes, and Midoriya and Walker!” You looked back down at your board and chewed your lip. You still haven’t thought of anything. You felt a poke to your left arm and turned to see Todoroki staring at you with his arm outstretched. He retracted his arm and cocked his head to the side, something you know he definitely did not do when he first met you. “Do you have your name yet?” You glanced away and shook your head. “No, I’ve been getting distracted from everyone sharing theirs..” You turned back to your white board and shrugged. “Don’t worry, though. I’ll think of something.”

“You’re using your real name too, Iida?” Your head shot up and you looked at Iida. He walked back to his seat with a grimace...Something’s wrong. Something is not right here. You watched him carefully for a few more minutes. “Well Midoriya? Are you ready?” You reluctantly tear your gaze away from the Class Representative to watch as Midoriya walked to the podium with a slightly nervous expression. He stared intently at his board for a minute before turning it around, and you could hear the entire class take a breath. Of course, his Hero name was in Japanese, so you couldn’t read it. You sat there with your chin in your palm as everyone stared at Midoriya.

“Really Midoriya?” Mineta called out. 

“You sure about that?”

“Yeah man, remember that could be your name forever!” You swiftly grab onto Uraraka’s sleeve and tug, leaning closer to her to whisper. “Um, what does it say? I can’t-I can’t exactly read Japanese y-yet.” Your face turned red. Uraraka leaned towards you and whispered just as quietly. “It says Deku.” You blinked and turned to Midoriya. “Oh?” You felt a smirk tug at your lips, and pride bubbled up inside of you. Was he actually-?

“Right. I used to hate it, but then something changed.” _He definitely was._ “I guess, someone taught me that it could have a different meaning, and that had a huge impact on how I felt. So now I really like it!” Midoriya looked up with a wobbly smile. “Deku, That has to be my code name!” You finally let the smirk take full control of your lips and you let out a loud laugh. “Go Strawberry!” You call out and start clapping. Soon, almost everyone in the class was clapping for Midoriya. He walked back to his seat after Midnight approved it, and she turned to you. Quickly realizing what she meant to do, you stop clapping and shake your head quickly, showing her the blank board. She sighed at that before turning back to Bakugou.

“Bakugou? Did you fix your name?”

He shot up like a rocket and was at the desk in a second. He slammed the board down. “LORD EXPLOSION MUDER!”

It took Kirishima, Kaminari, and Midnight to keep him from killing you right then and there, for you had decided that holding in your laugh was not going to work in the long run. You had spent the next five minutes laughing into your desk while Bakugou raged in front of you, trying desperately to blow you apart.

* * *

Toshinori groaned as he walked up to Ishiyama. “Huh, offers for the first years are still coming in. Lookie here.” Toshinori leaned closer to his co-worker. “Who’s that one for?”

“It’s for Midoriya.”

“Really?! Who’s after him?” Toshinori immediately bent down to look and recoiled. Oh no. “WHAT?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!”

...He’s going to eat Young Midoriya alive..

* * *

You hummed as your leg bounced. Your classmates chatted loudly to each other as they waited patiently for you and Bakugou to finish picking your names. Todoroki sat by you, watching your board while Aithusa leaned into your leg. “Do you have any ideas?” You shook your head. “Nope.” You bit your lip. You needed music, but it was in the middle of class and you’re pretty sure that will just make Bakugou pick a fight with you. You glanced up at Pandora flapping above your head. You know what, screw it. You’re going to listen to music, whether he likes it or not.

You reach up and tap Pandora’s screen. A hologram appeared and you tapped it again, quickly going to the volume setting and turning it down a little. Mina, who witnessed this, plopped herself in Koda’s abandoned seat. She jumped up and down in her stolen seat excitedly as you choose the song _“Boss Bitch”_. “What?”

“Oh, nothing. Just really wanna hear your taste in music! That song was amazing back at the Sports Festival, and I wanna be introduced to a new song!” She replied and stared intently at Pandora. You laughed quietly and tapped Pandora’s screen once more, allowing it to play the song. Immediately, the fast high pitched beats of some kind drum greeted your ears, and you felt yourself relax. Your foot tapped to the beat while you focused intently on your board. Mina started dancing to the song and you smiled. 

With a sigh, you slide your hand down your face, rubbing it while you thought. ‘Okay, so now that I actually have a moment to think, lets see. I should probably go for something that reminds me of the _Dark Boots_ , but what?’ You look down at your left hand. You blinked. It was small and dainty, and for a split second, an image of the butterflies that appear on your boots flashed through your mind. And then it went back to the shop from yesterday, when you got your bonsai tree. You hummed. ‘Wait, what was that old saying?’

- _“You know, you quite literally float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. It’s cool! It’s kinda like that old saying was talking about you!”_ -

“‘Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee’,” You murmured, tapping a finger against your chin, “How about I go with something like that!” You jot down a few ideas, tapping your marker against your board. Aithusa raised her head to look at you and shifted before glancing around the room once more. ‘How about Butterfly? Nah, feels weird, but close. What if I..?’ You lean back into your chair, moving your face to the ceiling and closed your eyes. ‘Now lets see, what can I remember about English female names? One, they tend to sound pretty and dainty. Two, some names can start the same, but end differently, like Ashley and Ashlynn. Three-Wait.’ Your eyes shot open and you jolted forward. You uncapped your marker once more and started writing on your board. Once done, you leaned back to glance over your new Hero name and nodded. You stood up with a satisfied grin and started walking to the podium with Aithusa walking faithfully by your side. Midnight smiled at you.

“Everyone, quiet down, Walker has her name.” Immediately, you could hear the conversations around you taper off, and once you turned around to look at the class, everyone was sitting. Granted, a few were in the wrong seats. You met Midoriya’s gaze before flicking down to your board. “So, I’m not quite sure how to write this in Japanese, but here’s my Hero name,” You flip the board around. Everyone in front of you peered at your name in confusion. Midnight hummed and placed a hand on her cheek. “Walker, as much as I love your creativity, I’m kind of at a loss. That sounds so dainty and pretty, and it doesn’t exactly match up with your quirk, or personality.” You smiled.

“Exactly. It sounds unassuming, right?” At this she nodded. You glanced down to the ground. “I’ve had a lot of people call me dainty and unassuming, and sometimes people would flat out ignore me and my opinions because they assumed I was younger and naive. So I thought I’d go for something that would throw people off just as much as what my looks do. And, my family did always say that I literally float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, and sometimes butterflies appear on my boots..so…” Your voice trailed off and you fidgeted with the board.

Someone whistled. “Damn, okay.” Kirishima sighed. “What is with everyone and picking emotional names?” A hand appeared on your shoulder and you glanced up. Midnight smiled at you gently. “Butterflynn is a wonderful name!” The class erupted in cheers once more, and you moved your gaze from her to your classmates. It automatically met Midoriya’s, and he smiled at you and clapped softly. You glanced away for a second before sending him a quick, small smile. You glanced over at Todoroki and he nodded. Once Midnight removed her hand, you headed back for your seat.

* * *

“Now that everyone’s decided on their Hero name, we can go back to talking about your upcoming internships.” You sat up straight and squinted, quirking your lips to the side. “They’ll last for one week, and as for who you’ll be working with, those of you who are on the board will choose among your offers. Everyone else will have a different list.” Oh? Guess you should’ve paid more attention to the board. You glanced behind Aizawa and let your eyes roam over the names. Blinking in surprise, you peered closer. Twenty four. Twenty four Heros decided they wanted you to intern with them. You leaned back into your chair with a surprised huff. “You have a lot to think about. There are about forty agencies across the country who agreed to take on interns from your class. Each agency has a different specialty that it’s Heros focus on. Keep that in mind.”

Midnight raised a hand, drawing the attention from Aizawa to her. “Imagine if you were Thirteen. You’d want to choose a place that focuses on rescuing people, not fighting villains! Understand?” Oh snap. You scratched your cheek. This isn’t going to be easy. “Think carefully before you decide.” Aizawa glared at the class. “YES SIR.”

The bell rang as the papers were passed out.

* * *

Izuku packed up his things as Mina moaned loudly. She had draped herself across the desk she sat at. “So guys, have you decided what Pro agency you want to go for?” Mineta immediately popped up next to him, brimming with happiness. Izuku jumped at his sudden appearance. “Mount Lady’s my top choice!” Izuku blinked as he heard a groan coming from you. “Of course it is, you little gremlin,” Todoroki glanced at her with what looked like surprise as Uraraka tried desperately to stifle her laughter. You glanced between them, “Did I say that out loud? Whoops.” You glanced at the tiny teen next to him. “Sorry, not sorry.” And then you grabbed your backpack laying next to the husky you had brought in with you. You slid it on as you stood up and quickly but carefully darted out of the room with the dog by your side. Izuku watched you go as his classmates continued to talk around him.

He glanced back at Todoroki. The boy you usually followed to lunch with looked a bit shocked at your actions. He turned and met Izuku’s gaze and he tried his best to send his most confused look to the silent boy. Todoroki must have gotten his silent question, for he glanced back at the door and shrugged. He grabbed his stuff and left, probably to find you. Izuku slowly shrugged it off and turned to the list he was handed earlier, scanning over it.

Izuku placed a thumb against his chin, right under his mouth and thought. He held his pencil tightly in his left hand. ‘So there’s only forty Heros-’ 

“Hey, Deku, who’s on your list?” Izuku’s head shot up a few seconds later as the sentence registered in his brain. His mouth stopped moving. Crap, he didn’t realize he was mumbling! “Uh, huh?! Oh, sorry, what were you saying?” Izuku planted his hands onto the desk, covering his piece of paper in a vain attempt to not think about the contents of it. Tsuyu walked closer to him. “You’re really thinking hard about this, aren’t you?” Izuku glanced back to his desk as Uraraka chimed in. “It’ll all work out, I settled on my pick!” Mina gave her a shocked look. “Already?! What agency?!” Uraraka smiled at her. “The one that the Battle Hero; Gunhead runs!” Izuku blinked. That one? He would’ve guessed that her top choice would’ve been a rescue agency.. “Gunhead’s a big brawler, though,” Izuku cut in, “Are you sure that’s where you want to intern, Uraraka?” She nodded with a determined smile. “Yup! He sent me an offer!” She punched the air near his head, and he flinched away. “Oh, really? But,” He cocked his head to the side, “I thought you were trying to be a Hero kind of like Thirteen!”

“Ultimately, that’s the plan, but I’ve been thinking ever since the festival. Well, at least ever since I faced off against Bakugou..” She stepped away and punched the air once more. “The stronger I am, the more possibilities I’ll have!” Izuku nodded at that, glancing away from her as he mulled it over. “Plus, learning from a battle Hero will give me a different perspective! Right?” Izuku nodded and turned back to her. “Yeah, totally!”

“More importantly, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you all day,” Uraraka frowned, “Why are you trembling?”

“Oh this?” Izuku glanced at his hands. They were trembling just as much as what he could feel from his body, “It’s exercise!” The group of students surrounding him leaned closer. “Exercise?! Were you doing that during the whole class?!” And that led to a conversation of workouts. Izuku’s eyes were drawn to Kaachan in front of him, and he flinched. Kaachan had started shaking. Izuku slowly scooted away from his old friend, still keeping himself just an inch above his seat. “Idiots.” Uh oh.

A few seconds passed with no explosion, and Izuku allowed himself to relax as much as his current workout let him to. He glanced down to his desk and clenched his hands. ‘I have to keep on improving. It’s the only way I’ll have any hope of finally controlling _One for All_.’ Mina hummed as she glanced around the room. “Soo, did anyone see where Aleah went? Todoroki already left, and he didn’t have her with him..” Uraraka flinched and her eyes went wide. “Now that you mention it, she did kinda disappear after her comment about Mineta’s top choice.” Izuku glanced up. “She left before Todoroki. I think he went to go find her.”

Kirishima walked closer and leaned against Kaachan’s desk. The boy in front of him growled, yet refrained from pushing Kirishima off. “Has anyone gotten in contact with her over the past two days? Everytime I send her a text, she won’t even read it!” At this, heads shook. Izuku bit his lip and pulled out his phone. You have yet to read all the texts that his classmates sent you in the group chat, and the very few texts he himself had sent you. He didn’t really want to invade in case you didn’t want to talk about anything, so he sent as little texts as he could while still trying to express his concern.

_“Hey, if you want to talk, I’m here for you! Only if you want to, of course! I’m not exactly trying to force you to do anything you don’t want to, just I think it would maybe help if you talk to someone, possibly? It doesn’t have to be me! And you don’t even have to talk to one of us if that’s the problem! Just-I’m gonna leave it there..” -You_

..Maybe he shouldn’t have done that? 

“I’m kinda worried for her,” Mina said, hugging her arms, “She freaks out during Midoriya and Todoroki’s fight and she disappears for the rest of the day, then it’s like she doesn’t even exist anymore for the last two days! I mean, I know we haven’t known each other for long, but that isn’t like her! She’s even avoiding Todoroki, and they’ve been practically attached by the hip since they met!” Uraraka nodded. “And did you see the way she was avoiding looking at us for most of the class? It’s like she’s ashamed.” Tsuyu placed a finger against her chin. “And she came in with a service dog...You know, I think we should just leave her alone for now.” Mina and Uraraka rounded on her with shocked looks. “What?”

“Before you all just start arguing,” Kirishima raised his hands in a placating gesture and pushed off of Kaachan’s desk, “Think about it! Walker had some sort of panic attack at the festival, right? And then she disappears for the rest of the day and doesn’t answer any of our calls or texts for the next two days, and when we finally do see her again, she’s got a service dog! I’m pretty sure that her avoiding us has something to do with all of that, and I’m kind of afraid if we push too hard, she’ll close up!” Uraraka and Mina glanced at the ground. “Let’s just give her some time! Maybe she’ll open up to us when she’s comfortable!”

* * *

You slid open the door to the faculty room and stepped inside. You waited for Aithusa to move her tail out of the way before closing the door. “Aleah?” You turned to see the teachers giving you concerned looks. They all had their own lunches with them. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at the cafeteria? Where’s Todoroki?” Present Mic said and he stood up. You shrugged and dragged a nearby chair to the empty space between Aizawa and Present Mic. You sat down and plopped your backpack onto your lap. Aithusa laid down next to you as you took out your lunch. You then took out a small dog bowl and placed it down in front of her, pulling out a small bag of dog kibble from the large bag. You poured some into the bowl and placed it back into your bag before placing it onto your borrowed chair. You opened up your lunch and started eating the cold food, ignoring the glances the teachers shared with each other.

You avoided looking at All Might and instead of talking non stop like how you usually would, you stayed quiet. “Young Walker? Is everything alright?” You shrugged once more, and Aizawa sighed. “What’s wrong?” You hummed, taking a small bite of food and glanced at him. “Just, don’t want to talk to my classmates right now.”

“You’ve been avoiding them since the Sports Festival,” Present Mic leaned onto the table, bending his head down to try and meet your gaze, “Did something happen?” You flicked your gaze to him. “The Sports Festival happened, and so did the fact that my classmates witnessed me having a flashback during it and now I have a service dog thanks to that. They’re bound to ask questions, and I don’t want to talk about it right now.” You went back to staring at your food. The teachers around you shifted in their seats. Midnight reached over Present Mic and placed a hand on your shoulder. You glanced at her. “Do you want to talk to us about it?” You paused, and shook your head. You heard a collective sigh from most of the teachers before conversation reluctantly started up again.

A few minutes passed and you quickly finished up your food. You glanced down, and Aithusa’s bowl was empty. You poured more kibble for her, and she started eating it. You sighed, and slowly leaned against Aizawa’s arm. He grunted, shifting a little, but didn’t throw you off or anything. You watched the other teachers interact, ignoring the concerned glances directed at you. You blinked and turned your head a little so you could whisper to Aizawa. “So, I forgot to mention this, but Todoroki knows about you being one of my guardians.”

You heard a long sigh, and his shoulders bounced once. “Of course he knows.” You smiled softly. “Sorry.”

“No, you’re not.”

* * *

You yawned as the sun set, walking past the large windows. You could hear chatter all around you as your fellow students started going home...Huh, students. Even after all this time, it still feels surreal that you had a ‘normal’ lifestyle now. It was no longer fellow soldiers, but students.. You paused near the restrooms and glanced down at Aithusa. The dog panted as she glanced around. It was..a strange thing to think about, that you were no longer in a war.

‘But, I still am, aren’t I?’ Your face twisted and you rubbed the arm holding onto Aithusa’s leash. ‘I may not be on the front lines anymore, but I’m still fighting.’ You sighed and turned your gaze to the ceiling. ‘Even then, I have to be careful; the Order and Earl has eyes everywhere.’

“Oh, Walker!” You flinched and looked in front of you. Midoriya stood a few yards away from you, right in front of the opening to the restrooms. He blinked, opening his mouth, and you turned around quickly. Aithusa grunted and turned with you, quickly matching your quick pace. Midoriya called after you. “Hey, wait!” You heard footsteps behind you, and you shifted from a speed walk to a run. Oh no, this can NOT be happening! You don’t want to see anyone right now, dammit! Why can’t the universe cut you a break?! A hand enclosed around your elbow gently, quickly slowing you down. You bit your lip to refrain from grabbing his hand and flipping him over. You stopped and Midoriya stopped right behind you, still holding your arm. “Hey-”

“Why did you follow me?” You cut into his barely started sentence, voice sharp like a whip. You regretted it instantly, but it was already out and his hand flinched before he let go. You stayed faced away, and you could feel your eyes start to burn. What? Why were they burning? Why was your chest so tight? “W-Well, I-I-I,” He swallowed nervously, and you heard him shifting. Your eyes continued to burn, “I’m sorry.” Midoriya murmured. Right when you opened your mouth, he continued in a louder voice, and you froze.

“It’s just, you looked like you needed a hug.” Tears sprung up into your eyes, and your chest heaved. You blinked rapidly, trying desperately to hold back the tears. Why were you crying?! There was nothing for you to cry over! No dead comrades, no high leveled Akuma around, and definitely no Lavi eating the last piece of chocolate dessert! You reached up with your right hand and wiped away the tears. “I’m fine,” You managed to choke out. Midoriya stayed silent for a moment more. A gentle hand appeared on your other arm now, and he gently guided you to a nearby classroom. You heard the door open and he paused for a moment. He walked in, gently dragging you through the doorway. He closed the door, letting you go for one moment, and you immediately pressed yourself into the nearest corner and slid down. 

Midoriya slowly knelt down next to you as you hid your face in your arms and continued to suppress the sobs trying to rip out of your throat. Aithusa plopped herself onto your lap, whining a little. “Hey, it’s okay,” Midoriya said softly and put a gentle hand on your shoulder. A sob wrenched itself out of your throat, and you covered your mouth, curling up over your dog, “Um, w-what’s wrong?” You shook your head. “I don’t-I don’t kn-know!” You wiped away some of your tears as the sobs finally freed themselves from your throat. For a long moment, all you could hear was your loud cries, and you tried to muffle them as best as you could. A throat cleared itself, and Midoriya shifted from crouching to sitting next to you. You glanced up at him to see him open his arms. He had an awkward smile on his face.

He didn’t say anything.

Just smiled reassuringly at you.

You wiped your eyes once more before trying to slide over to him with Aithusa still laying across your lap. She looked up at you and licked your cheek a couple times as Midoriya wrapped his arms around you. You buried your face into his neck and slid your own arms around his waist.

He murmured quietly into your hair as his grip on you tightened slightly. “Hey, it’s okay,” You shook as he rubbed his thumbs in circles on your shoulders, “Everything is okay.”

* * *

_“Thank you, for earlier.” -You_

_“It was nice of you to help me.” -You_

_“Oh! No problem!” -Strawberry_

You hummed as you scratched Aithusa behind her ear. You were laying on your bed with your new dog curled up next you, almost laying on top of you. You lowered your phone before it could have the chance to slip out of your hand and smack you right on the nose. With your gaze firmly on the ceiling, you placed the small device on your chest. Not a second later, it buzzed with another message. You groaned and picked it back up, turning it on. Another message from Midoriya.

_“Um, so have you talked to everyone else? They were kinda worried about you..” -Strawberry_

Your nose scrunched up and you glanced back up at the message he left last night. Honestly, you were not looking forward to talking with everyone at once..Maybe you can do it one by one? Yeah, that’ll work! For now, though, you’re going to limit yourself to just one.

_“I don’t think I’m up to talking to them just yet. Honestly, I was planning on waiting for a week before I started texting everyone, but then that happened.” -You_

You glanced back down at Aithusa and shifted. She turned her head to look at you. Your phone buzzed in your hand and you returned your gaze to it.

_“So, I noticed you had a dog with you today! What’s his name?” -Strawberry_

You smiled and quickly tapped out a reply.

_“Her name’s Aithusa! I wasn’t the one to name her, she came like that.” -You_

You switched to your camera app and angled your phone to Aithusa, who was still staring at you. She was panting, with her tongue out, and her mouth pulled back in what looked like a smile. You quickly snapped a picture and sent it to your classmate. 

_“Isn’t she adorable? Honestly, I would’ve named her Lady Destroyer of Time and Space, but that works too, I guess.” -You_

_“Wait seriously?” -Strawberry_

_“Lady for short.” -You_

_“But, it’s a bit too late. Oh well. It can’t be helped.” -You_

You glanced at the clock on your phone and scratched Aithusa’s side. It was almost nine. It buzzed once more.

_“Can I pet her the next time we see each other?” -Strawberry_

You shrugged.

_“Sure, once I get her vest off. Hey, do me a favor?” -You_

_“What is it?” -Strawberry_

_“Don’t tell the others about me texting you. I’m going to go to the group chat and check things out, but I’m not really ready to talk with everyone just yet.” -You_

Your face twisted as you paused, eyes moving around your room while you thought.

_“I’m actually planning on talking to Kirishima and Todoroki in the next couple of days, maybe tomorrow.” -You_

_“Do you mind if I ask why?” -Strawberry_

You sighed harshly and shifted to lay on your stomach. Aithusa yawned and shifted closer once you were done repositioning yourself.

_“Like you said earlier, they’re worried. That’s one reason. When people worry, they tend to be overbearing, and I can’t really deal with that right now. If I just announce my presence in the group chat, they’ll blow up my phone even more than they already have, and then they’ll be hurt when I disappear again.” -You_

_“If they learn that I’m talking to you right now, then they might feel hurt, and that is the last thing I want to do right now. I don’t want them to get their hopes up only to get hurt when they fall, you know?” -You_

Midoriya was silent for a few minutes, and you turned your phone off for a moment, gently laying your head against your arms. You placed your hands on top of your pillow and stretched, groaning a little. You felt your phone buzz once again and you turned it on.

_“That’s reasonable, I guess. Don’t worry, I won’t tell!” -Strawberry_

You smiled.

_“Thank you, Strawberry!” -You_

_“You’re welcome! So, do you know who you want to intern with?” -Strawberry_

_“Honestly, no clue. I don’t have many Heros who wanted to intern with me, and I don’t know which one I should pick! Oh, have you picked yet?” -You_

_“Oh, I got an offer just before I met up with you! It’s from Gran Torino! He’s an old Hero, and he actually used to be All Might’s homeroom teacher at U.A.!” -Strawberry_

_“Really? Good for you!” -You_

_“Apparently, he scared All Might so much that he was shaking when he notified me of it..” -Strawberry_

You let out a snort. 

_“Oh no, don’t die!” -You_

_“I’ll try not to!” -Strawberry_

* * *

The next day, you slid into your seat and pulled out your phone. There weren’t a lot of people in the class yet, just you and Todoroki. Aithusa let out a whine and you gave her a rub on her back. While you searched up the Heros that gave you offers, you watched Todoroki lean closer to you from the corner of your eye. “Walker?” 

“Hmm?”

“Is something wrong?” You looked up and smiled at him. “Not really. Why?” 

“You didn’t respond to any of our texts and you disappeared during lunch yesterday. Also, you’re normally not here this early.” You blinked and shrugged. “I didn’t really want to talk to anyone since the Sports festival, and I also didn’t want to physically interact with everyone at once more than I have to.” He nodded slowly. “Ah.” You turned back to your phone. “So, who are you planning on interning with?” Todoroki sighed and leaned back into his chair. “I’m not quite sure. I’m thinking about one, but I don’t really know if I can handle it.” You blinked and rounded on him.

“Todoroki Shouto, one of the recommendation students and absolute powerhouse, not being able to handle a week long internship?” You tilted your head, eyes squinting. “I’m not sure I follow your line of thinking.”

Todoroki slid his gaze to his left hand. “Nevermind. Forget I said anything.” 

“I don’t think I shou-”

“Which agency do you plan on interning at?” You stopped and stared at him, your normal smile slowly slipping away. He met your gaze head on. After a minute of staring at each other, you placed your phone down gently on your desk and slowly started speaking again. “I haven’t decided, either,” You bit your lip and turned away, decided to ignore Todoroki’s weird behavior for now, “I was just searching up some of the Heros who sent me offers. I’m afraid I don’t know much about the local Heros here, so I decided that searching them might help me pick.” Your friend nodded.

A moment of silence passed before the door opened again, and Iida stepped inside. He looked up, meeting your and Todoroki’s gaze, and his eyebrows shot up. He fumbled for a split second, hands going everywhere as he took in the sight of you two. “Ah, Walker and Todoroki! What a surprise to see both of you here before me!” You tilted your head. “Hi, what’s up Iida?” You smiled at him briefly. The teen walked briskly to his seat, face somehow stony with the ~~_(false, forced)_~~ cheer painted across his features. As he grew closer, your gut steadily but slowly twisted and you rubbed it with one hand. Neither boys noticed it as Iida sat down and attempted a conversation with you two. When they weren’t looking, you frowned.

You were a bit confused. Ever since the Sports Festival, your gut has been twisting in rising dread on and off, and you don’t know why exactly. You knew something was off, otherwise you wouldn’t feel sick at random times, but you couldn’t place a finger on it. Your danger sense had stopped yelling at you after the U.S.J incident, once you all had escaped the League of Villains, but it was slowly but steadily blaring again. And funnily enough, it was only around Iida when it flared up. You bit your lip. 

You’ll have to keep an eye on him from now on, won’t you?

* * *

_*You created a group chat with Hard Mode, The Avatar, and Strawberry*_

_“Hey, guys!” -You_

_“Walker! You’re alive again!” -Hard Mode_

_“Please don’t tell the others about this, I’m begging you!” -You_

_“..Whhhyyy?” -Hard Mode_

_“Oh, hello again, Walker!” -Strawberry_

_“Oh, and uh, hello Kirishima! Sorry, I wasn’t expecting a group chat..” -Strawberry_

_“Np!” -Hard Mode_

You smiled as you spun around in a rolly chair near Aizawa’s desk. He had placed it there during one of your classes without him so that he wouldn’t have to fight you for his seat. You had decided to eat with the teachers once more today, and with a wince, you realized that you were probably going to do this for the next week until you had texted everyone separately. Your phone buzzed and you refocused back onto it.

_“Walker? Did you die again?” -Hard Mode_

Right, you were talking to your friends. You quickly tapped out a reply and refilled Aithusa’s food bowl.

_“I did not. Yet.” -You_

_“I don’t want them feeling hurt when they find out I texted you guys back, and not respond to them when they find out. I really don’t think I can handle them right at this second all at once.” -You_

_“Oh, okay! You have my word I won’t!” -Hard Mode_

_“Is that why you aren’t sitting with me right now?” -The Avatar_

_“Holy crap, Todoroki?! Where did you come from?!” -Hard Mode_

_“I didn’t realize you were here, either! You are really sneaky..” -Strawberry_

_“Yup! I don’t want to risk getting ambushed by our classmates right now!” -You_

_“That’s reasonable.” -The Avatar_

_“Have you guys figured out which agency you guys are going to?” -You_

_“I’m going with Fourth Kind!” - Hard Mode_

_“Endeavor.” -The Avatar_

You blinked. Endeavor, huh? You hummed and leaned back into your chair, gaze raising to the ceiling. Wasn’t he one of your offers? Yeah, he was, wasn’t he? Humming, you shifted in your seat, thoughts going to his fighting style.

_“I’m going with Gran Torino.” -Strawberry_

_“Who’s that?” -Hard Mode_

_“He’s an old Hero, back when All Might was still in school! He was actually All Might’s homeroom teacher!” -Strawberry_

_“Huh, wonder why he reached out to you..” -Hard Mode_

_“I think it’s because my quirk is similar to All Might’s..I don’t know though.” -Strawberry_

_“I might go to Endeavor’s..still on the fence about it, though.” -You_

_“Wait, really?! You both?!” -Hard Mode_

_“..I kinda feel bad for him. Having you both at the same time? Oh boy.” -Hard Mode_

You let out a quiet laugh. The bell rang, and you jumped. With a curse, you scooped up your dog supplies and shoved them into your bag before jumping up. You grabbed Aithusa’s leash and quickly but carefully left the room.

* * *

_*You created a group chat with PinkJellyBean and Chargebolt*_

_“Hold up, is that?” -PinkJellyBean_

_“IT IS!” -Chargebolt_

_“Walker!” -Chargebolt_

_“You’re alive!” -PinkJellyBean_

_“Hello, you two! Can you do me a favor real quick??” -You_

_“..Is it illegal?” -PinkJellyBean_

_“No.” -You_

_“What’cha want?” -Chargebolt_

_“Can you not text the others about me contacting you? Please? I’ll text them when I’m ready to face their worry. And I assure you, I’m fine.” -You_

_“Okay..” -PinkJellyBean_

_“Do you mind if I ask what happened? During the festival?” -Chargebolt_

_“Kaminari!” -PinkJellyBean_

_“What?” -Chargebolt_

You lowered your phone, forehead resting against the glass of the car door. You watched as Mina scolded Kaminari. A minute later, you returned to the chat.

_“Their fight reminded me of something...unpleasant that I would’ve preferred to not remember. I just needed a couple days to myself without everyone pestering me.” -You_

_“Don’t tell Midoriya or Todoroki I said that. They’ll be so guilty over something they couldn’t control.” -You_

_“On it! Don’t worry, my lips are sealed!” -PinkJellyBean_

_“Mine too!” -Chargebolt_

_“Thank you. Also, I’ve already talked to Kirishima and those two idiots.” -You_

* * *

_“Uraraka!” -You_

_“Holy crap, Aleah? I almost dropped my phone!” -Bubbles_

_“Haha whoops?” -You_

_“You alright?” -Bubbles_

_“Yup! Don’t worry! I just needed a couple days to myself after my panic attack.” -You_

_“Oh, okay. That’s good, I guess. Have you decided on an agency?” -Bubbles_

_“I think I’m gonna go with Endeavor. You?” -You_

_“Gunhead.” -Bubbles_

_“I heard that he’s a brawler. Isn’t that a bit different from your quirk type?” -You_

_“Yeah, but I kinda want to learn how to fight. I don’t want to always rely on my quirk. Plus, if I learn from a Hero like Gunhead, I can learn how to use my quirk in not just a rescue situation, but in battle with villains much faster than if I went with a Hero like Thirteen!” -Bubbles_

_“Hmm, smart.” -You_

_“What about you?” -Bubbles_

_“What do you mean?” -You_

_“Why are you going with Endeavor? I mean, I believe he’s mostly a mid to long range fighter, right?” -Bubbles_

_“Yeah, I guess he is, but that’s why I’m considering him. I’m mostly a close range fighter, but I have attacks that can be used from a distance, which I can barely use. I’m kinda hoping by being under his wing I can develop them fully.” -You_

_“Plus, one of them is a literal tornado of fire.” -You_

_“You have TORNADOES ON TOP OF OVERPOWERED KICKS??!!” -Bubbles_

_“..Yes?” -You_

_“WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME??” -Bubbles_

_“...I didn’t think it was important, plus you never asked?” -You_

_“You need to show me sometime! When did you even develop them?” -Bubbles_

_“I realized I could do that when I was like, six.” -You_

“ALEAH! COME ON DOWN, LET’S EAT!” You jumped and groaned, quickly sliding off of your bed. You’ll never get used to that, will you?

_“Ah, sorry! I need to go. Ttyl!” -You_

_“Bye, Aleah!” -Bubbles_

* * *

You yawned as the class stopped inside the station, stretching. Aithusa opened her mouth and yawned at the same time, whining a little at the end. You giggled sluggishly and reached down to scratch behind her ear. She glanced up at you with a doggy smile. “Why are you so tired?” Todoroki asked quietly as Aizawa lightly scolded Mina. You gave him a shrug and a tired smile before turning back to Aizawa.

In reality, you did know why. As the week progressed, your gut feelings grew stronger slowly, until last night, you could barely sleep. Your gut just wouldn’t stop twisting in dread, and the sense of wrongness kept on coming back no matter how many times you pushed it down so you could sleep. You didn’t let either of your guardians know, though Aizawa kept on sending you suspicious looks throughout the morning. You glanced over at Iida. On the surface, he was normal; calm and collective, and a stickler for the rules. As always. But with every thought or glance at him, your gut panged sharply as the sense of wrongness and dread washed over you, and you knew something bad was going to happen around him. With a sigh, you turned your gaze to Midoriya and Todoroki. The painful feeling lessoned, but did not completely fade away. A couple days ago, when you texted Kaminari and Mina for the first time since the festival, you took one look at the pair of boys, and your danger sense flared. It’s been getting stronger since, but hasn’t exactly reached the level of pain you got when you thought of Iida.

Whatever is going to happen to the taller teen, he’s going to drag your other friends into it as well.

“Make sure to mind your manners with the other Heros during your internships. Now get to it.” You jolted as the class responded loudly to him, and you watched as Iida turned and walked away. Midoriya and Uraraka went after him, calling out to him. You slowly walked closer, stopping a few steps behind Uraraka. “Iida, wait!” He stopped, but didn’t turn around. Your gut twisted sharply and you winced. “Hey, if you ever want to talk or anything, just let us know,” Midoriya started, and Uraraka nodded in agreement, “We’re friends, right?” Finally, Iida turned around and gave you three a bright, reassuring ~~_(false, false, false,_ **_false_** _)_~~ smile. The wrongness traveled up your gut to your throat, choking you. You placed your hand on your chest, fingers twitching every now and then. “Yes.” And he walked away. 

Your two friends watched him leave, and on a split second decision, you jogged after him, grabbing his arm. He turned to you with an unreadable face, and you could’ve sworn that you saw anger in it a second before he faced you. You glanced back at Uraraka and Midoriya, who watched you with confused, but worried expressions, and you leaned closer. You met his gaze and you slipped your smile off of your face and replaced it with a deep frown. He shifted uncomfortably. “Walker? What’s wr-”

“Don’t do anything stupid, Iida.” He blinked, shock crossing his face. “I, what?” You glanced away from him. “You’re going to do something stupid, I can feel it, and you’re going to get people dragged into your bullshit and not only will you get hurt, but they will as well, and I’m pleading with you to,” You took a deep breath, shoving down the angry, hateful look you could see in your mind’s eye, the one one of your comrades gave to your brother not too long ago when it was revealed that the traitorous Noah chose him as his host, and met Iida’s gaze, “To NOT do anything stupid that’s going to get you killed. You’re the class rep, remember? Don’t give them a bad role model, and don’t taint your brother’s name. Whatever you’re planning on doing, it’s NOT WORTH IT.” You let him go and stepped back. He stared at you before slipping that fake smile back on his face.

- _Allen smiled at you, gritting his teeth against the pain as he watched Road sit innocently on your lap with one eye. You couldn’t feel the weight, though, Road had done something to you, and all you could do was watch as he croaked through the jolts of pain the candle in his eye sent through him. “Don’t worry, I’m_ _fine!_ ”-

- _Allen smiled at you, hiding his left eye away from sight as it tried to hunt, twisting around in search of more Akuma souls. “Don’t worry, I’m fine!”_ -

- _Allen smiled at you, panting heavily as he held the Level 4 down by his sword. You could see the blood from his wounds drip down onto the trapped Akuma. “Don’t worry, I’m fine!”_ -

- _Allen smiled at you, chained down like an animal. His Innocence arm had been bound with the talismans the CROWs used to control Exorcists and taped to his right shoulder to prevent him from using it. The plate of food you got Jerry to make for him shook in your hands, and Link slipped by you to sit in the only chair. “Don’t worry, I’m fine!”_ -

- _...He was never fine._ -

“Don’t worry about me, Walker. I’m fine, and I won’t do anything stupid.” You flinched as he walked away, the pain worsening sharply until tears sprung from your eyes and the tightness in your throat tightened. 

…

...He wasn’t fine. Not even close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone! i really hope you guy like this chapter (and the last few ones as well). i was not exactly planning for that bit with Allen, but it felt so right to write it like that! i was planning on writing a flashback with him in it halfway through writing the chapter, but my hands took it and ran with it (again)..i actually ran out of stocked up chapters, like i JUST finished this chapter today, but i'm going to see if i can finish the next chapter before Saturday and then go into a hiatus to restock my chapters. anyways, i hope you all had a wonderful day/night and that you liked this chapter! remember, you're all AWESOME! XP


	11. Chapter 10

**_“WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THREE DO?!”_ **

**_“Ack, Walker! Wait, nonono-oof!”_ **

**_“Walker, we’re fine.”_ **

**_“LIKE HELL YOU ARE! YOU THREE FOUGHT STAIN AND ALMOST DIED!”_ **

* * *

“Walker, wake up!” You jolted and groaned as you lifted your head from Todoroki’s shoulder. You rubbed your eyes and glanced around, blinking blearily. “What-? Where-? How-?” Todoroki huffed and stood up, grabbing both yours and his bags. “Come on, this is our stop.” He waited until you scrambled to stand, and he led the way out of the train. You clutched onto his sleeve with one hand, and the other tightened on Aithusa’s leash. The next few minutes blurred together, and when you opened your eyes again, you were standing in front of a heavily blurred building. You saw Todoroki glance over at you. “Walker? Are you alright?”

You slowly glanced around, squinting at your blurred surroundings. “Where are we?”

“Endeavor’s agency?” You blinked and turned back to him. “Isn’t that a twenty minute walk from the train station? It’s literally been about a minute, how are we here already?” Todoroki’s head slowly tilted to the side. “It’s been about twenty minutes since we left the train station. Did you somehow fall asleep while we were walking?” You opened your mouth, paused, and clicked it shut. After a moment of thinking, you continued with a shrug. “Quite possibly.” He sighed and started walking inside. “Come on, let’s go inside.”

Todoroki walked inside the building with you close behind. You rubbed one of your eyes. “Sorry about making you carry all that.” He glanced at you and shrugged. “It’s fine. Besides, I get the feeling you would’ve dropped it repeatedly until you woke up fully.” You suppressed a grin. “Yeah, you were right. My hands hate to be used right after I wake up..” You glanced down at your hands. Like Midoriya’s, they were covered in scars, but they were so light no one noticed. Hell, even you forgot they were there at times. 

- _ “Her last mission completely destroyed her hands, Chief! We have to perform surgery now or else they’ll-they’ll..” _

_ “I know, I understand, but Central isn’t! They want her back on the battlefield now, and I can’t exactly disobey them! You know what they might do to us if we disobey a direct order!” _

_ “Komui, you can stall for time, and get us Healer Heroes out there! They’ll be here within a couple of hours if you sign it as a Code Wings! Please! She needs her hands!” _

_ “..I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t make any promises..Wait, she’s waking up.” _ -

“I can carry my stuff now,” You say and hold out your hand. He shrugged the backpack off and passed it to you, and you slung it over one shoulder. You smiled at him in thanks, and a large figure appeared suddenly. “Shouto!” His voice boomed, and you jumped about a foot into the air, stumbling a bit when you landed. You placed a hand firmly on Todoroki’s shoulder to help find your balance, and your backpack slid off your shoulder and into the crook of your arm.

You whipped your gaze up and met the cold blue eyes of Endeavor. Your eyes widened and your body immediately straightened itself into a stiff, upright position, forcing your hands behind your back. ‘Crap, didn’t mean to do that!’ Once you realized what your body did, you quickly slid out of your attentive position and into something less like a soldier and more like a teenager. Well, what you thought a regular teenager would hold themselves in.  _ (You could still feel the stiffness in your limbs. No matter how much time you spent away from the battlefield, you could never get away from the training for it, could you?) _

Endeavor’s eyes narrowed as he watched you, and you gulped, unconsciously raising your shoulders up a bit before forcing them down. Holy cow, you knew he was extremely intimidating from the news, but in person? It’s like nothing you ever felt before! Hell, not even the Noahs could make you feel intimidated!  _ (In the back of your mind, you quickly and quietly wondered why, why you never felt intimidated by such overpowered people before, but instead, that was reserved solely for Leveille.) _

His gaze slowly slid from you to Todoroki, who had tensed up as soon as Endeavor noticed you. “Shouto, you’re finally here. What took you so long?” His cold blue eyes bore into your friend, and you briefly wondered why he was using Todoroki’s given name. “The train was late,” Was all that came out of Todoroki’s mouth. Endeavor huffed angrily as he crossed his arms. He stared at him a moment longer. “Follow me,” He turned and took a step before he turned back to you, glaring down at your small body, “And don’t wander off on your own.” Endeavor turned back around and briskly walked away, leaving you two to jog after him. You turned to Todoroki.

“So, why is he on a first name basis with you?” You whispered, leaning closer to him as you struggled to keep up with both of your tall companions. “..He’s my father.” You blinked and leaned back, pace unintentionally slowing for a split second. “Oh.” You then jogged to return to his side. “That..was not something I would’ve realized on my own.” You say with a small, nervous giggle. Todoroki glanced over at you with a small frown. “You..didn’t know he was my dad?” You shook your head. “Absolutely not! I didn’t connect the dots until now! God, I’m so stupid!” You smack your cheek with one hand and start giggling hysterically. Endeavor stopped in front of a door and turned around, glaring down at you once more. “What are you doing?”

You shrugged. “Just laughing over my stupidity! Don’t worry about it!”

“She just realized we were related.” Todoroki replied and you turned to him. “You never gave me any hints! How was I supposed to know?!”

“I already told you half of my quirk is flames?” 

“Your quirk is so different from his! You can’t honestly expect me to realize that when you’ve barely shown me your hot side!”

Endeavor sighed heavily and opened the door, rubbing his temple and groaned. “What have I done?”

* * *

‘Holy shit, this office is unnecessary.’ You thought as you glanced around, taking in the extravagant office while Endeavor strolled behind his desk. ‘Is that a chandelier?! Not fair!’

“I’ve been waiting for you, Shouto. You’re finally ready to walk down the path of the mighty.” You turned back to him with a narrowed gaze. Did he forget you were there? “I have no intention of following any path you’ve created, only I get to decide my future.” Todoroki immediately replied in a tired voice, and you covered your mouth to prevent yourself from laughing. ‘Damn, Todoroki! Spoken like a true savage!’ Endeavor let out a small laugh. “Is that so? You should go get ready, we’re going out.” You do not like the sound of that. “Where to, sir?” You piped up, rocking back and forth. Endeavor eyed you before brushing you off. “It’s time I show you what it means to be a Hero.” Todoroki stayed put for a brief second before turning and walking out. You turned your attention back to the Hero in front of you.

“So, is there any place I can leave my dog? I don’t want her to get hurt while we’re out.” Endeavor glanced down at her. Aithusa met his gaze from her spot next to you. She had laid down as soon as you stopped, and was now giving him a smile. “I’ll have one of my Sidekicks watch over it while they’re doing paperwork. Now leave.” Your smile widened and your eyes narrowed once more. “She, not it. Please don’t make that same mistake twice,  _ sir _ .” 

And with that, you tugged on her leash to get her to stand, and left his office to find some sort of changing room. Todoroki joined you outside of the room and led you to the changing rooms.

* * *

“Brother? Are you in here?” Lenalee called through the heavy door as she knocked on the wooden slab. A voice called out, and the door opened. Reever stepped aside and gave her a tired smile, allowing her to wheel herself inside. The large and surprisingly clean office smelled like old paper, strong coffee, and a slight undertone of pine trees, which invaded her nose almost immediately once she crossed the threshold. Her older brother sat in his desk right in front of the large windows, the surface covered in stacks of papers. Lenalee wheeled herself closer to his desk, Reever following closely.

“Brother,” His dark eyes immediately glanced up from the paperwork he was doing to meet her gaze, and the soft smile he instinctively showed quickly slipped into a deep frown once he registered her serious expression, “We have a problem.”

“Did the computers in your office go out again? Damn, I thought we fixed it already.” Lenalee shook her head. “No, it’s not that. I think,” She glanced around the room, looking for her brother’s new secretary or anything suspicious, “Is the office bugged?” Both males shook their heads. “I had it checked about an hour ago. No one has been in here since besides Bridgette.” She nodded and leaned closer to them, whispering. “I think I found Aleah.” Her brother and Reever stared at her in shock, leaning away slightly as they processed her sentence. “I-What?” The man sitting gaped, mouth opening and closing over and over.

“Komui,” She reached over the wood and clasped her hands around his, “I found her!” Lenalee bit her lip as tears welled up in her eyes. “How?” Komui gripped her hands tighter. “A couple days ago, after Reever came and fixed the light in my office, we went to get lunch, and when I came back, there was this message. It said that all the systems were fixed and that the data we lost had been recovered, and-and,” Lenalee paused to take a breath, removing one hand to wipe away tears that escaped her eyes. She glanced back up as her breath trembled, “My computers found Aleah. She’s in U.A.”

* * *

You flopped on your borrowed bed and groaned loudly. Aithusa hopped up next to you and lapped at your face. You groaned as you lifted a hand to scratch behind her ear, and you glared up at the ceiling. “Endeavor is such an ass!” You complained to her softly, not wanting to be overheard just in case. “It’s like he forgets I’m there, and when he does remember, he treats me like shit! And he insulted you!” You turned your face to her while she layed down. “How did you just sit there and take it? He called you an ‘it’!” Aithusa blinked at you, her ice blue eyes disappearing behind the black smudges around her eyes for a second before she tilted her head. You sighed and continued to scratch her ear. “You are a saint, Aith. I don’t know how you do it.”

Your phone buzzed on the nightstand beside your bed, and you sacrificed the hand scratching your dog to reach over and pick it up. You brought it over to your face and turned it on. Oh, messages from some of your classmates! You smiled and switched your phone to your other hand, placing your right back on Aithusa’s head. She laid her head on your stomach and a puff of hot air escaped her nose.

_ “I swear Mount Lady is sadistic!” -Tiny Purple Pervert _

_ “She’s making me clean her living space while she lazes around on the couch eating chips!” -Tiny Purple Pervert _

_ “*Laughing emoji*” -PinkJellyBean _

_ “*Laughing emoji*” -Chargebolt _

_ “That’s rough buddy.” -Totally Gay Frog Overlord _

_ “OOOHHH HAHA!” -Sticky Spider _

_ “*Laughing emoji*” -Sticky Spider _

Laughs bubbled out of your throat, and you placed your hand down on your chest as you wheezed. A minute passed and, giggles still spilling out of you, you turned back to your phone. Aithusa glanced at you as her head bounced up and down on your shaking stomach.

_ “Dammit, you beat me to it!” -You _

_ “HOLY SHIT!! WALKER’S BACK!” -Sticky Spider _

_ “*Gasp* YOOOOO!” -PinkJellyBean _

_ “You’re finally back in the action!” -PinkJellyBean _

_ “EXTRAS! SHUT THE FUCK UP BEFORE I KILL YOU!” -Overgrown Pomeranian _

_ “How about no?” -You _

_ “Guys! Quit being mean!” -Tiny Purple Pervert _

_ “We will once you stop being a pervert!” -You _

_ “Okay, so how was everyone’s first day?” -Bubbles _

_ “Tiresome.” -Musical Ears _

_ “I was forced to take a run with my mentor for the entire tour of the city.” -Musical Ears _

_ “I could barely keep up with him..” -Musical Ears _

_ “Selkie had me start off with cleaning the ship. I’m going to be seeing more action later, apparently.” -Totally Gay Frog Overlord _

_ “Endeavor called Aithusa an ‘it’!” -You _

_ “..Who?” -Sticky Spider _

_ “My new dog. I didn’t name her, she came like that!” -You _

_ “She’s currently trying to lower my phone with the power of puppy dog eyes. It’s not working.” -You _

You quickly snap a picture of Aithusa staring straight at you with her head still planted firmly on your stomach and send it to the class chat. 

_ “Honestly, it’s kinda creepy to see her do it.” -You _

_ “Awwe! She’s so cute!” -Air Is Invisible _

_ “..Yeah, I agree with you, Walker. That is kinda creepy.” -Sticky Spider _

_ “EXTRAS I WILL BLOW YOU APART!!” -Overgrown Pomeranian _

_ “Uh oh, what happened today, Bakugou?” -Hard Mode _

_ “I’m betting Best Jeanist is trying to tame that wild mane of his.” -Totally Gay Frog Overlord _

_ “FUCK YOU!” -Overgrown Pomeranian _

_ “Wait, is he?” -Sticky Spider _

_ “And probably shattering whatever is left of his pride.” -Totally Gay Frog Overlord _

_ “*Laughing emoji*” -Chargebolt _

_ “I swear to god, if you don’t stop..” -Overgrown Pomeranian _

_ “Yeah, that wasn’t a very good choice on your part, Poof.” -You _

_ “POOF!” -Chargebolt _

_ “*Laughing emoji*” -Sticky Spider _

_ “*Laughing emoji*” -PinkJellyBean _

_ “Oh my god, no. Don’t.” -Hard Mode _

_ “It’s too late!” -Chargebolt _

_ “It already happened!” -Chargebolt _

_ “You do realize that you’re going to die, right?” -You _

_ “When we get back?” -You _

_ “Probably!” -Chargebolt _

_ “Probably?” -Totally gay Frog Overlord _

_ “I swear if ONE MORE PERSON STARTS COMPLAINING ABOUT THEIR INTERNSHIPS, I’M GOING TO BLAST THEM ALL TO HELL.” -Overgrown Pomeranian _

_ “Oookaay then. How about you calm down juuuust a smidge, okay McBlasty?” -You _

_ “Fuck off!” -Overgrown Pomeranian _

_ “Don’t wanna. :P” -You _

_ “How was your day, Bakugou?” -The Mother T.M. _

_ “How was my day? HOW WAS MY DAY?! It fucking sucked! Fucking crazy old man decided to MESS WITH MY HAIR AND MY SUIT! I WAS STUCK IN THERE FOR FOUR HOURS DOING NOTHING BUT SITTING THERE AS HE PULLED MY HAIR!” -Overgrown Pomeranian _

The chat was silent for a few tense minutes. You hummed, quirking your lips to the side as a thought struck you. Were you going to get killed for this? Probably. Were you going to regret it? Nope!

_ “....” -You _

_ “That’s rough, buddy.” -Totally Gay Frog Overlord _

_ “That’s rough, buddy.” -You _

You laughed loudly, your body shaking as the laughs poured out of you.

_ “Jinx! You owe me a soda!” -You _

_ “Can you QUIT being CHILDISH?!” -Overgrown Pomeranian _

Your laughs quickly died down and you frowned slightly. 

_ “I’m not the one acting like a spoiled brat, Bakugou. I didn’t have to be chained up because something didn’t go the way I wanted it to and I pitched a tantrum.” -You _

You huffed and sat up, crossing your legs over one another. You leaned your elbows on your knees while Aithusa shifted onto her side. The chat blew up a few seconds after you sent that.

_ “Okay! I think you two have had enough time around each other for the day!” -Hard Mode _

_ “Woah, you two need to chill!” -Chargebolt _

_ “Please don’t fight, you two! It’s not going to end well for anyone!” -The Mother T.M. _

_ “Take your petty fighting somewhere else! Some of us are trying to keep this chat pure!” -Tiny Purple Pervert _

_ “You’re not keeping this pure, Mineta!” -PinkJellyBean _

_ “To be fair, Bakugou did insult her when she wasn’t doing anything wrong.” The Avatar _

_ “Oh hey, Todoroki! Where’ve you been?” -Bubbles _

_ “Oh. Oh god.” -Bubbles _

_ “But she just attacked him out right!” -Tiny Purple Pervert _

_ “I was gone for ten minutes and this is the bullcrap you guys come up with?? Seriously??” -Bubbles _

_ “And she was defending herself! Bakugou insulted her for no reason other than the fact that she was being herself, and she responded accordingly! How about you take that useless argument somewhere else, Mineta?” -Bubbles _

You whistled. “Nice, Bubbles! Got to say, I wasn’t expecting that.”

_ “But I agree with Kaminari and Kirishima; you two need to calm down!” -Bubbles _

_ “Sorry.” -You _

_ “Not sorry.” -You _

_ “Night! Ttyl!” -You _

You huffed and leaned over to the nightstand, plugging your phone in it’s charger and placing it down on the cool wood. The light from your phone turned off after a moment, and you were bathed in darkness. With a huff, you turned to Aithusa. She had raised her head to look at you, and you took full advantage of that by rubbing the sides of her face with your palms. You smiled as you scratched behind her ears and glanced up, staring into the darkness.

“Huh,” You say with a confused frown, “Midoriya should’ve seen that conversation and participated. Wonder what he’s up to to make him so busy?”

* * *

“One more time!”

**_Thud! Crash!_ **

“Oww..Okay, switch faster this ti-”

**_Thud! Crash!_ **

* * *

The next day was spent mostly outside. Endeavor had made you and Todoroki follow him as he moved from one crime scene to another throughout the city. Though, there was this one time where he made you follow a car that was carrying suspects with nothing but a camera strapped to your head and a comm linked to the police he was working with at the time. You spent four hours collecting information on them while he and the police team watched through the camera. That was probably the first time he had acknowledged your abilities so far, and you couldn’t help the satisfied smirk you bore when you went to sleep that night.

The third day of the internships saw you training with Todoroki. Endeavor was mostly focused on his son’s progress with his quirk, and you stayed out of that potential cat fight as best as you could. Surprisingly, he had a couple uneven bars in the training rooms inside his agency, and a few balance beams near the back. You took full advantage of this surprising gift and used both for your warm up. You almost fell off of the uneven bars, laughing, when he turned and saw you balancing yourself with one hand on the cool metal. Your legs were in a full split, and you were carefully switching your hands with a jump every now and then. You giggled as you watched him freak out at a safe distance. And then you fell to one side, hands still clasped tightly around the bar, and swung yourself around it. You let go and flipped onto the second bar before flipping yourself towards the balance beam.

With a grin, you landed on top of the padded thin surface and rolled into a couple cartwheels before stopping on your feet. You hopped off the beam and joined Endeavor and Todoroki in their warm up quietly.

It was shortly after lunch when you decided to approach Endeavor. Todoroki had disappeared somewhere, and you used this sudden disappearance to your advantage. Whenever you went close to Endeavor, Todoroki would tense up, as if he expected something bad to happen, and you really didn’t want to freak him out. But, if you wanted to have this next conversation with the Hero to end civilized, Todoroki would have to be absent.

You knocked firmly on Endeavor’s office door, and he called you in. You entered, hand tightening around Aithusa’s leash, and closed the door. Endeavor barely glanced up at you as you walked closer to him, gaze flicking up then quickly going back to his paperwork. Once you were close enough, he started speaking before you could say anything. “What is it? Can’t you see I’m busy?” You frowned and bit your lip. “You know, I’m supposed to be learning from you, but all I’ve learned so far is how bad of a father you must be with all the neglect you’ve been showing me.” He froze, the scratching from the pen in his hand stopping suddenly. You internally grimaced, but kept going. That may have been the wrong way to start this off, but it’s already out there and you can’t take it back.

Finally, he slowly placed his pen down and glared up at you. “..Parden?” The flames on his shoulders crackled louder and you flexed your fingers. “You sent me an offer to come to your agency for the week, and yet here you are ignoring me in favor of your son. I get that you want him to succeed, but that doesn’t make it fair when you purposely neglect teaching me anything. Instead, you spend most of your time teaching Todoroki. Like I said before, all I’ve learned from your current behavior towards me is how bad of a father you must be to your other children.” Endeavor suddenly stood up, chair scraping against the floor loudly and fell. He glared down at you, and you met his gaze evenly with a calm expression. 

“How dare you,” He seethed with a hissing, deep voice, and you tried your best to suppress the shiver going up your spine. You were used to his thunderous voice being loud when he was angry, but never like a giant hissing snake, “I invite you to learn under my wing for the week and this is how you treat me?”

“Doesn’t feel nice when it’s directed at you, now does it?” You blurt out, and immediately bite your tongue. You stared up at him for a tense moment, waiting for him to snap, but all Endeavor did was stare at you in shock. When you deemed it was safe, you glanced down towards his desk and sighed heavily. “I came here hoping you could help me develop my special moves and teach me a few things, but so far you have been treating me like shit and focusing on Todoroki. I’m done playing nice with you,” You met his gaze again and squared your shoulders, raising your chin higher, “Either you’re going to treat me with the respect I deserve and stop ignoring me, or you’re not going to have a good time for the rest of the week. Understand?”

Endeavor scoffed. “And what could a little girl like you do?” Your frown turned into a wide smile, and your eyes narrowed. “Oh, I could do lots of things! I could put some rat poison in your lunch when you’re not looking, or I could hack into your bank account and move your money onto another account without leaving any evidence. I could also give the media information on you that could put your current status as the Number 2 Hero in jeopardy!” You rocked back and forth on your heels. “Including how bad you abused your children, and how you’re still abusing them. I may not know the full extent to it, but I know abuse signs when I see them. And I assure you, once the media looks closely enough, they’ll see it too and you’ll have a full blown scandal on your hands where you’ll probably never fully recover from.” You tilted your head to the side. “The list goes on, but you do understand the position you’re in, right?” Endeavor gritted his teeth and continued to glare at you. When he said nothing, you sighed and turned around. “I guess I’ll have to fight you every step of the way, then.”

“What special moves do you have?” You blinked and turned back at him. “..Should I take this as you’ll change and help me now?” He groaned and dropped his head. “..Fine, take it as that, as long as you don’t do any of what you’ve mentioned.” You hummed and shrugged. “I can produce tornadoes from my boots, all a different element. I can only use wind reliably, and the others will either not work at all when I try to use them, or they’ll work the way I want them to but only once and they’ll become weaker the more I use it. That’s why I mostly kick my opponents, but since we’re supposed to learn during our internships, I was hoping you could point me to the right direction on my long range attacks. I really need the help, and I couldn’t think of anyone else who could help me.” Endeavor sighed and rubbed his temple. His ice blue eyes bore into you in a different manner than before. 

“Alright. Shouto can work by himself for now.”

* * *

“She’s..what?” Komui’s eyes widened even more. Lenalee gulped down a sob. “She’s in U.A., brother! Oh, what are we going to do? If Central finds out-”

“Delete whatever evidence of it you can find,” Reever cut in, and both siblings turned to him, “That way, they won’t ever find it.” 

“But what if they hack our computers?” Lenalee asked, and Komui removed his hands from hers and intertwined his fingers together, placing his joined hands in front of his face. “They won’t be able to, they don’t have any computer smart people up there. Plus, the CROWs aren’t trained to hack into someone else’s computers from inside H.Q. We’ll be safe as long as you’re smart and quiet about it. Is it only on your computer?” Lenalee nodded. “Good. Go ahead and delete any evidence of it, and be safe about it. As long as we don’t give them any reason to be suspicious, they won’t bother trying to check your computer.”

Lenalee nodded and wiped her eyes. “Should we warn her?” Reever asked, rubbing one of her shoulders. Komui shook his head. “Not now. It might draw attention to her if we do it here. I’ll see if I can set up a meeting with Bak, and then we’ll try there. For now, lets keep this between us, alright?” Lenalee and Reever nodded, and they turned and left Komui’s office. As soon as the door closed, Komui sighed heavily and rubbed his face.

“Oh, Aleah. What have you gotten us into?”

* * *

“Alright, show me what you got.” You smiled and activated your boots. “Which one do you want to see?” Endeavor crossed his arms. “The one you can use reliably, at full strength.” You nodded and raised your leg high, swinging it down sharply. “Waltz: Mist Wind!” A giant tornado of wind burst out and headed straight for the far wall. It crashed into the wall, and you could hear it groaning as it tried to stay standing. Unfortunately for the wall, your tornado picked up all of the lighter equipment in the room and smashed them into it. You had planted your feet firmly into the ground and watched as the wind picked him up and brought him forward a couple steps. 

When the wind died down, he turned to you. “Good. Now I know what your other tornados are supposed to look like. Let’s get started.” You hummed and peered around him. “Should we fix the wall first? It’s got a few giant holes.” Endeavor paused and whipped around to stare at his wall. A huge hole sat in the middle of it and all of the equipment that was picked up laid at the foot of the wall. Your tornado almost tore through it. He slowly turned to you with wide eyes. “That was almost six inches of enforced steel..” You grimaced. 

“..Is this a bad time to say that’s one of my weakest attacks?”

* * *

“Where are we going?” You ask as Endeavor leads you and Todoroki outside. The sun was slowly sinking down into the horizon, and when you left, you took a quick glance at the clock. It was four in the afternoon. “Hosu City.” You blinked and tilted your head. “Isn’t that where Iida went?” You asked Todoroki, who shrugged. Then, your eyes widened. “Isn’t that where Stain might be right now?!” Your gut twisted painfully, and you gasped, arms shooting to hold your stomach. That’s why your danger sense has been going crazy! Iida was going after Stain! “Walker?” Todoroki murmured and you whipped your head around to look at him. One of your hands clutched onto his sleeve and pulled him close. “Walker? What’s wrong?”

“Iida is going after Stain! We have to find him when we get to Hosu City and stop him!” You whisper harshly, glancing over at Endeavor. He walked briskly ahead, about a yard in front of you. “What?” Todoroki leaned closer to you, eyes widening. “He’s really going to do that?” You nodded. “Haven’t you noticed his behavior before we left? I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he’s in the same city Stain was last spotted in.” Todoroki glanced away. “This is bad.”

“Come on, you two! Hurry up!” The both of you jumped, and with a worried glance at each other, you quickened your pace to catch up with the huge Hero.

* * *

Lenalee groaned as she leaned away from her computer screens, rubbing her eyes. She finally deleted all of the evidence of finding Aleah from all of her computers and systems. She glanced down at her watch. She was finally done after three hours. Lenalee rubbed her face with another groan. 

A knock on her door caused her to jump in her wheelchair, and she immediately pressed a button on her main keyboard. All the computers in front of her switched off, and Lenalee turned around with a large smile. “Come in!”

The door opened, and a man peeked his head through. He gave her a soft smile and waved. “Hey, can I come in?” Lenalee hummed, shifting to hide her sudden discomfort. “Sure, of course.” He nodded and stepped inside, rubbing his sore hands together. He closed the door and limped over to the only other table in the room, pulling out the chair and landing harshly on it with a heavy huff. “How are you, Chaoji?” Lenalee asked as she took in the injuries his last mission gave him; cuts along his face, a large bruise on his left cheek, his right leg hid an injury somewhere, and his hands were probably straining from overuse. Chaoji shrugged as he adjusted his low ponytail. “Okay, I guess. You?” She smiled softly, ignoring the bad taste in her mouth. “As good as I’ll ever be.” 

The chinese woman glanced over at her computer then back at him. “Is there something you need? You don’t normally come down here..” Chaoji’s smile slowly fell, his eyes glaring down at the floor. He rubbed his neck. “Did you find the traitor siblings?” Lenalee blinked, barely swallowing over a lump in her throat. “What?” Chaoji sharply glanced back up at her. “Did you find the traitor Noah and his sister?” 

“No,” Lenalee internally cringed at how easily the lie rolled off her tongue. As much as she hated it, she had to sin thousands of times to protect her family, “I didn’t. Why won’t you call them by their names?” Chaoji’s hard glare sharpened. “Then why are your computers off? Shouldn’t you be looking for them? Have you even been looking for them this entire time?”

“Chaoji, stop.”

He stood up and glared down at her. “Why are all of you scientists on his side? He’s a Noah, for Christ’s sake!  _ He tried to save another not too long ago!” _

Lenalee straightened as much as she could in her chair and maneuvered it around so that she could comfortably look at him. She raised her chin and her normally warm, violet eyes hardened into purple ice. “Chaoji, what we do to help find them is none of your business. You can whine and throw tantrums all you want, but you’re not going to bully us into working overtime for something you Exorcists and Finders are supposed to handle. We aren’t supposed to be actively searching for them like you are; we’re overworked as it is! For your sake, I suggest you stop before you piss someone off.” Chaoji slammed his fist into the table, gaze flicking away from her to glare at a random object, and groaned. Lenalee tried not to jump; she’s faced off much scarier things from her time as an Exorcist, and her successor has had to fight even scarier beings. She can handle whatever the angry Exorcist before her throws at her. “Ugh! You all are so useless! Even the Finders are more useful than you scientists, and they can’t even fight against the Akuma!”

Lenalee’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Chaoji,” She hissed quietly, hands clenching tightly, “You better watch your tongue. I may be a scientist now, but I was once a General. You have no right to speak to me like this.” The man’s face scrunched up. “And before you say another word, let me remind you that I still have Generals Cloud Nyne and Socalo’s ears. They will discipline you if they hear about this.” She watched with a slight twinge of pleasure as a hint of fear entered his gaze before flicking away. “I suggest you leave now, Chaoji. I rather like that table, and I don’t want you to continue abusing it.” He glared at her before turning and limping through the door. A second after it was slammed shut after him, another hand rapped on the wood. Lenalee sighed harshly. “Yes?”

The door opened once more and Reever peeked in. “Hey, is this a bad time?” Lenalee smiled and shook her head, gesturing for him to come closer. He slipped through the gap between the door and the doorframe and shut it softly. “What was that all about?” The older man asked as he handed a file to her. She shrugged. “Just Chaoji being a man child, as usual. He tried to bully me into doing his job for him, while knowing full well how much the Science Division is overworked.” Reever groaned and rubbed the back of his neck. “People these days..” The asian woman huffed out an annoyed laugh. Reever placed a hand on the back of her chair and leaned down. “Is it done?” He whispered in her ear, and she nodded. “Good.” He reached out a hand and tapped the file in her hands. “Komui wanted me to give this to you. He says it’s urgent.” 

“Thank you, Reever,” Lenalee smiled at him, and the blond nodded. “No problem. Now if the light breaks mysteriously again, come get me. I’ll be in Lab 3 for the rest of the day.” Reever patted her shoulder and left the room, closing the door gently. Lenalee turned back to the file and opened it. “Now, let’s see what’s so urgent about you!”

* * *

You activated your boots as soon as your group of three reached the streets. Your gut was twisting sharply every few seconds, and you didn’t want to be caught off guard. Something bad was going to happen, and soon. The sun was barely touching the earth by the time you left the train station, and it was slowly sinking further down. You rubbed your right wrist as you glanced around. Endeavor started walking, and you followed closely. “Please don’t tell me we’re actually going after the Hero Killer?” You ask. Your gut twinged when he didn’t answer. You sighed while the Hero picked up the pace. Your brisk walking shifted into a run, and you quickly matched paces with a jogging Todoroki. You shared a look.

Suddenly, your stomach twisted so sharply, you almost fell down. A second later, an explosion further into the city rocked the ground, and you looked up to see fire in the distance. “Walker!” Endeavor yelled loudly, running fast. “Scout it out and report back to me!” You nodded and straightened, taking a few steps before jumping towards the large fire. While in the air, you adjusted the comm in your ear and pressed a button on it. “Hello? Can you hear me?”

**_“Affirmative!”_ ** Todoroki’s voice crackled into your ear and you frowned, landing on a rooftop. You were close to the fire now. “Todo? What happened to Endeavor?”

**_“I think his comm was destroyed earlier. I’ll relay whatever you find to him.”_ ** You nodded to yourself and jumped again. “Alright. I’m landing near the explosion site now,” You say and landed, skidding to a halt. You jogged over to the edge of the rooftop and peered over. Your (e/c) eyes widened and you placed a hand over your mouth, gasping, “Oh my god.”

**_“What is it?”_ **

“Nomu, three of them, from what I can see! There’s also civilians trapped and other Heros engaging the Nomu! They’re not doing so well! What are my orders?” You heard Todoroki’s voice replay your words like a broken record, and he paused before replying back to you.  **_“Try and get the civilians out safely, and do not engage with the Nomu unless you absolutely have to!”_ **

“Copy that!” You say and jump down, landing on your feet twenty feet below your last perch. There were about three people caged in by a huge wall of fire, hands sticking out of rubble further away, searching for someone to help, and a group of teenagers cowering behind one of the Nomu. At least three Heros were trying to reach the group. With a grunt, you ran towards the closest trapped civilian. “Hello?” You call out and jump over the wall of fire, landing in a crouch. You looked up and stood, “Are any of you hurt?”

“My daughter is!” A man yelled, holding a little girl closely. Her big black eyes stared up at you tearfully, “Her leg was burned, but I don’t know how badly!” You nodded and stepped closer, gently grabbing her hanging ankle. “May I?” At her hesitant nod, you pulled the injured leg closer and gently pulled her dress up so you could see the injury better. You hummed. “Thankfully, it’s not bad, but I don’t have any first aid on me,” You lower the skirt back to its original place, “I’d say it’s a first degree burn, maybe a second. Though, it could get worse the longer she goes without treatment.” You stood and turned to the other civilians. “Are you guys okay?” They nodded, and you turned back to the flames. “Alright, I’ll be right back! You all, get as close to the building as you can and stay there until the fire goes out, okay?” You watched as they shuffled closer to the building they were trapped against. Once they were situated, you ran towards the fire and jumped, landing on the other side unharmed.

You stood and glanced around. A bus crashed into a car and an explosion rocked the ground. You grunted while the biggest of the Nomu swung its arm and slammed the Heros into the ground. Cursing, you turned back to the wall of fire behind you. You slid your right foot behind you, bending your knees, and reached out your arms in an ‘L’ shape. Your right arm rested straight in front of you while your left one stuck out in a ninety degree angle. You pushed up onto your left leg, raising your heel as high as it could go, and spun with your right leg straight out. As you continued the string of pirouettes, you felt the air shift around you, twisting around you as your leg directed the current. Your eyes continued to watch the fire, and once it died down from the lack of oxygen enough for the civilians to jump across with minimal injuries, you stopped. As soon as the rush of wind died down, you heard a loud groaning sound right behind you, and you jumped. 

The civilians screamed while you flipped in the air, your head swinging down towards the concrete. You blinked as the Nomu screeched up at you, and you huffed out a breath. You flipped once more and let yourself fall feet first into the Nomu’s face. It shrieked loudly as you crouched into your attack, sending it to its knees while the ground cracked under it. It swung its giant hands at you, trying to grab you, and you jumped off its face and onto the ground right before it. The Heros around you screamed out warnings and you darted forward, swinging a leg up and kicking it in the chin. It groaned once more and you quickly jumped, placing both feet on its chest and you pushed. It flew to the other side of the empty space, skidding to a halt near the open fire hydrant and-is that Midoriya?!

You blinked. “Midoriya? What are you doing here?!” You yell as you turn back to the trapped civilians behind you. You jumped over the small flames and jogged back over to the group of four. “Hey,” You gently placed a hand on the young woman’s shoulder while another Hero continued to try to snuff out the fire, “It’s safe to cross now! Come on! You can all jump over without getting hurt!” You turn back to the father while the other two jumped across the dying flames. “I can hold her for now, if you want!” He hesitantly passed her to you and jumped over a smaller, thinner patch of fire. You smiled down at the little girl and adjusted your grip on her. “Hold on tight, okay?” She wrapped her arms around your neck tightly and shoved her face into your neck. You moved her legs up and jumped over the fire once again. Midoriya reached you as you passed the little girl back to her father. “There’s an ambulance about a block away,” You pointed down the street, away from the fight, “If you go that way, you’ll find it!” The group ran off, sending smiles and quick shouts of gratitude to you.

“Have you seen Iida?” You paused, eyes widening while your gut twisted. “Manual said he ran off somewhere, and I can’t find him!” You whipped your head around and met his wide eyes. “You’re kidding.” Midoriya shook his head rapidly, eyes flickering from one place to the next as he tried to spot any trace of the tall teen. You cursed in english and ran your hands through your hair. “Dammit, what is that idiot doing?!” You turned back to your classmate. “I don’t know where he is, but I’m pretty sure he’s going after Stain.” Midoriya groaned and slapped his face with his hands. “I knew this was going to happen..”

“I can’t leave right now; I’ve got orders from Endeavor to secure the civilians until he gets here, but he should be here somewhere! Maybe you can find him before he finds Stain and knock some sense into his uncharastically thick skull?” You call out and jog away, heading for the arms you can still see under the rubble. Midoriya followed you while the Pro Heros continued to battle with the Nomus. “Don’t worry, just go find him!” He hesitated, nodded, and ran off, leaving you alone quickly. You reached the rubble and started removing the dirt and stones from whoever was trapped underneath. “Hello?” You call out, and the body moved. A voice groaned under the pile and you picked up the pace. “Hello, can you hear me?” You finally removed the rest of the broken stones from the civilian’s body and they slowly lifted their head. They moved until they were propped up on their elbows and smiled dazedly at you. “Heyyy.” 

You clicked your tongue and lean closer to the person, looking into their eyes. “I think you may have a concussion. Hold up, can you move anything?”

They looked down at their legs. “I think my leg is broken.” They murmured, and you winced at the sound of them slurring their words. “Okay, hold on!” You shifted closer to their legs and placed a gentle hand on one. They sucked in a harsh breath, wincing. You murmured a soft apology and carefully inspected their leg. You hummed. “Looks like you broke it..Okay, so I’m going to pick you up, alright? I need you to sit up and wrap your arms around my neck.” The civilian groaned and slowly sat up while you spun around. They wrapped their arms around your neck and you slowly stood up, grabbing their legs and holding them in a piggyback. They hissed out a pained breath. “Sorry!” They shook their head slowly. “It’s good..Imma sleep now.”

“Wait, no!” You yelp and wiggle. They groaned and peered up at you. “It’s a bad idea to sleep when you have a concussion! Just hold on until we get to the paramedics, okay?” With another groan, the civilian on your back nodded. “Okay, so I’m going to jump. You’re going to feel a bit weird, and whatever you do,  _ do not let go! _ I’m going to be as careful as I can get when landing, but I’m not going to promise that this won’t jostle your injuries a little, because it might. You ready?” They nodded. You smiled at them and took a step.

“Watch out!” 

You immediately jump back, and a stinging pain appeared across your stomach. You winced as the flying Nomu screeched in your face while the Heros attacked it, and you looked down. Your leotard was ripped from the upper left part of your stomach to your right hip, and a faint red line stretched across your soft skin. You clicked your tongue once more and glared up at the Nomu. Thankfully, it was only a flesh wound and hadn’t drawn blood. One Hero with horns yelled at you while it prevented the Nomu from attacking you once more. “Go! Get out of here!” With a nod, you ran around them and jumped. Your passenger grunted a little. “You better have not fallen asleep!” 

“Imma ‘wake!” They murmured into your ear just as you landed on a rooftop. They grunted once more and you jumped, heading for the paramedics. You yelled as you landed near an ambulance, and people jumped out of the way. You skidded to a halt and was immediately surrounded by rushing medics in scrubs. They carefully extracted the civilian off of your back and carted them away somewhere. Pandora buzzed near your head while you glanced around, and you tapped it’s screen automatically, sighing in relief when you spotted the group of teenagers from the battle. You glanced at the notification your golem got from your phone.

‘A text from Midoriya...A location?’ Your eyes widened and you gasped.  _ ‘He found them.’ _

You turned on your heels, getting ready to jump, but a crackle in your right ear distracted you. You pressed the button on the comm.  **_“Walker, where are you?!”_ ** Endeavor’s voice drifted into your ear. “I just dropped off a civilian to the medics!”

**_“Get back to the battle site! You can use water, can’t you? Manual’s down!”_ **

“Yes sir!” And with that, you remove your finger from the comm and groaned. ‘Sorry, Strawberry. You’re going to have to be on your own for now! Please don’t die..’

* * *

“Midoriya, you need to give more details in times like this. I was almost too late to stop this guy.”

“..You too, Todoroki?!”

* * *

The hospital doors opened automatically with a swish, and you barreled through. You ran straight for the front desk as the nurse manning it called out for you. “Hey, slow down!” You slammed into the desk, hands instinctively clutching onto the edge. “Iida, Midoriya, and Todoroki,” You say between deep breaths, “What room?” The nurse blinked and with shaky movements, she turned to her computer and tapped a few keys. “Oh, um, r-room two-hundred and fifty-six! Second floor on the right, between the vending machines and the bathrooms!” You smiled at her and dashed off. “Thank you!”

‘Elevator or stairs?’ You thought as you skidded to a halt between them. ‘Mmmm, stairs.’ You pushed open the heavy door and activated your boots, jumping up onto the second floor. You barreled through the door and took off down a hallway void of doctors and nurses. ‘Two-hundred and fifty six, two-hundred and fifty six, two-Aha!’ You stopped sprinting and grabbed onto the doorframe, sliding a little. You slam open the door and peered inside. Your classmates and three adults stared at you, all with equally confused and concerned expressions. Your gaze flicked over your classmates’ injuries. Thankfully, none of them were hooked up to machines, and you let out a sigh of relief before anger took over.

You breathed in deeply, your face contorting into a deep scowl. The boys inside watched you with increasing weariness while your Innocence deactivated. 

“WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THREE DO?!” They flinched in surprise, and the three adults quickly stepped out of your way as you ran towards the closest injured teen. “Ack, Walker! Wait, nonono-oof!” You tackled Midoriya in a hug, sending him sprawled on his bed. He groaned as you quickly rolled off of him and grabbed his pillow. “Walker, we’re fine.” Iida tried to reassure you as he started inching away. You whipped your head around to glare pointedly at his arms, which were hanging in slings and bandaged up.

“LIKE HELL YOU ARE! YOU THREE FOUGHT STAIN AND ALMOST DIED!” You yelled as you raised the pillow high in the air and slammed it onto Midoriya’s face. You slid off of his bed and jumped towards Todoroki, wrapping your arms around his waist. Just as his arms wrapped around your body, you slipped out of his grasp and hit him in the face with the pillow. You turned to Iida with fire in your eyes and stalked towards him. “W-Wait, Walker!” You had just raised your arms to wrap around him when you realized two things. You cursed loudly and dropped your arms.

“W-What?” You pouted and stamped your foot into the ground. “I can’t hug you because of your injuries, and your glasses are protecting your face from the pillow!”

“You can hug him from behind and hit the back of his head.” Todoroki called out and you snapped your fingers, turning and pointing at him with a huge smile. “That is a great idea! Iida,” You turned back to the taller teen, “Turn around so I can hug you!” With a sigh, he shuffled around until his back was to you, and you immediately rushed forward and wrapped your arms around his waist. You squeezed tightly. “Don’t you ever do that again! Ever! I was so scared that you were going to die, you ass!” You quickly let go and jump up, hitting the top of his head with the pillow. With a huff, you walk back over to Midoriya’s bed and plant yourself there, placing his pillow back where you found it. A cough snatched your attention back to the adults and you tilted your head.

“If you are done,” A man with a dog head gestured at the door, “I would like to continue talking to these students, woof.” You blinked. ‘..Did he seriously just say woof?’ And then the situation caught up to you, and your face paled. You were in a hospital. You were in a hospital filled with machines that looked so like the ones the CROWs used to punish you with. You were surrounded by people in lab coats and the machines  _ that continued to poke and prod at you before finally pushing in and the electricity jumped into your body, and you were screaming for help help help HELP- _

You breathed in sharply and grabbed fistfuls of Midoriya’s bed sheets. “I’d rather wait in here, thanks.” You smiled at the man, eyes flicking fearfully at the door. The old man closest to you turned to the dog man and shook his head, and he sighed before nodding. “Fine, you can stay.” He turned back to the three patients. “As I was saying, Stain has some serious injuries; severe burns and several broken bones. Right now, he’s in the hospital under strict guard, woof.” Ah, you knew what this was about. Midoriya finally sat up fully and you grabbed his hand, squeezing and giving him a reassuring smile. You switched your gaze to Todoroki. “Here’s a lesson you should have already learned; when quirks became the norm, the police force sought to maintain the status quo. They decided we wouldn’t use quirks as weapons. That’s when Heros came in. They could do what we couldn’t, if they were licenced of course, woof. It would be impossible for the police to condone the illegal use of quirks, after all, we’re here to stop such harm from being done. The only reason Pros can use their powers now is because of the strict code of ethics that the early Heros chose to abide by. That’s why it’s against the law for uncertified people to use their quirks to cause injury. Whether you were up against the Hero Killer or not, none of you have the authority to harm the villain. That means the three of you and your supervisors, Endeavor, Manual, and Gran Torino, should receive harsh punishments for this gross abuse of your powers.”

“Now wait a minute!” Todoroki’s calm face twisted into a scowl, and you sighed softly. “Had Iida not stepped in, Native would’ve been murdered! And if not for Midoriya, both of them would be dead! No one else even realized that the Hero Killer was in Hosu! Are you saying we should’ve stood by and watched people die?” Midoriya turned and splayed his hands out. “C-Calm down!” You turned away from your friends and gazed down at the floor. “So it’s okay to break the law as long as it goes your way?” The man cut in, staring Todoroki down. “But sir, isn’t it a Hero’s job to save people?!”

“We’re barely into our first year of Hero training, Todoroki. It’s not our job yet, and we’re nowhere near ready for it.” You say and Todoroki turned to you. Before he could speak, you turned back to him and gave him a look. “We don’t even have our Provisional licences yet. Hell, we haven’t even gotten through our week of internships!” The dog headed man sighed, directing Todoroki’s attention back to him. “This is why you’re not a full fledged Pro yet. It’s obvious U.A. and Endeavor haven’t been teaching you near enough. What a shame.” Todoroki growled strode forward, and you stood up with your anklets shifting. “Wait-”

“You damn mutt!” 

“Todoroki, listen! He’s right!” Iida stepped forward just as the old man held up a hand, blocking your friend from his target. “Stop there, kid! You’ll wanna hear him out till the end.” You let out a puff of air and sat back down, letting the tall man continue. “What I’m saying is the official stance of the police department.” You bite your lip and cover your mouth, refusing to let the giggles slip out. “But, any punishment would only be necessary if this went public. If it did, you’d probably be applauded by citizens everywhere, but there’s no way you could escape from being reprimanded. On the other hand, we could say Endeavor saved the day. Stain’s burns would support the story completely and we could pretend you weren’t involved, woof. Thankfully, there were very few witnesses. This could be the last you heard about any punishments.”

“That means,” You say as you smiled up at the dog head, “No one outside of us, the Heros from yesterday, and the police department will know about what they did, correct?” He nodded. “You are correct. They’d receive no praise or acknowledgement at all. The choice is yours.” He said to the boys beside you. “Personally, I know where I stand.” He raised his thumb up with a doggy smile. “I don’t want to damage any promising young careers, not for a mistake like this.” You smiled and shrugged, flopping down onto Midoriya’s bed. You tuned out the adults as they scolded their interns, and soon enough, they left. “Um, Walker?” You hummed. “Are you ever going to let me have my bed again?” You smiled and opened one of your eyes. You peered up at Midoriya’s face.

“Eventually. Right now, I’m comfy and don’t want to move!” Todoroki walked closer to you, stopping right next to your head. “You knew about this, didn’t you?” You nodded and closed your eye again. “Yup! Endeavor trashed one of his training rooms when he heard the news. Apparently, he’s unhappy that he’s getting the credit instead of his son! He said something about the police ruining your grand entrance into the spotlight, or something like that. I wasn’t really paying much attention.” You heard Todoroki pad away and you opened your eyes again. Patting the space next to you to get Midoriya to lay down, you turned to the three boys. 

“So, what exactly happened while I was busy?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm not exactly happy with this chapter, but i don't hate it? once again, my sibling says it's okay, so.. i know that Endeavor and Todoroki left for Hosu on the first day of internships, but i wanted there to be a little more time for some conflict to brew between Endeavor and Aleah before they found Stain. (it also totally has nothing to do with the fact that i forgot what actually happened..hehe, has nothing to do with it!) i hope you all liked this chapter, and please have a wonderful day/night! you're all AWESOME! XP


	12. Chapter 11

“I’m back!” You called out loudly, slamming the door closed. You watched as a head of dark hair jolted on the couch’s armrest and disappeared, quickly followed by a thud and groan. You snorted while Hizashi slid into the living room from the kitchen with a giant grin. He opened his arms and ran towards you. “Aleah, you’re back!” The blond man tackled you with a hug and you grunted as you stepped back. Aizawa groaned again from his place on the floor. “Stop being loud.”

Hizashi squeezed you before grabbing your shoulders and pushing away, giving you a bright smile. “You’re a bit early! What happened?” You shrugged. “Train problems. I didn’t want to get home at midnight.” You ducked under his arms and headed for the stairs, unhooking Aithusa from her vest at the foot of the stairs. “What’s for dinner?” You ask and hang up your dog’s vest on the wall. You frowned when silence greeted your question and turned around with a concerned expression. Hizashi stood frozen where you left him, and Aizawa had sat up and was staring at you over the couch. “Um, guys? What’s wrong? Was it something I said?” Hizashi slowly turned around with his hands holding each other, positioned right in front of his mouth. You tilted your head as tears pooled in his eyes. “Mic? Are you alright?”

He mumbled something and started vibrating slightly. You took a cautious step back towards the first step, ready to bolt. “I’m..sorry, I didn’t catch that. What did you sa-”

“YOU CALLED IT ‘HOME’!” Hizashi bawled loudly and rushed over to you, hugging you tightly. You squealed as he picked you up and swung you around lightly. You glanced over at Aizawa and pleaded with your eyes. “Help me! Please, I’m being squeezed to death!” The man sighed and stood up, flopping back onto the couch. “Let her go, Mic.”

Suddenly, you were falling, and you grunted in surprise once your feet landed on the cool wood. You gasped in an exaggerated breath and hunched over, placing your hands on your knees. “I’m free! Yay!” You heard Hizashi move, and you glanced up to see him bouncing away. “Where’re you going?” You call out and move to follow him, but a throat clearing catches your attention. You glanced over at Aizawa and he gestured up the stairs. “Go unpack. We’ll call you when dinner is ready.” You glance back over to the kitchen opening and slowly nod. “Okay, sure.” Turning to run up the stairs, you glance around for your husky.

“Aithusa! Come on!” You clicked your tongue and the clicking of claws alerted her sudden entrance. She trotted out of the kitchen with a huge doggy smile and up to your side. You smiled down at her and picked up your bags. “Come on, upstairs! Let’s go.” She bounced up the stairs and waited for you at the top with a wagging tail. You followed her up and entered your room.

* * *

Shouta groaned and slowly stood up, walking towards the kitchen. He closed the door and leaned against it. Hizashi flitted from one end of the kitchen to the other, humming loudly as he cooked your favorite food. “So-”   


“You know, it’s kinda weird how you didn’t eat regularly at all when it was just us, but ever since Aleah arrived, you’ve established an eating schedule!” Hizashi laughed loudly as he finally stopped moving. “I’m so proud!” Shouta groaned and leaned his head back. “Knock it off, Mic.”

“Awwe, but why?” Shouta sent him a glare, and Hizashi’s cheerful expression quickly melted into a somber one. “What’s up?” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “You saw how she reacted, right? When you mentioned the word ‘home’?” Hizashi nodded and turned back to continue cooking. “Yeah, what about it?” Shouta groaned and rubbed his tired eyes. “I think it might be best if we don’t mention it ever.” Hizashi hummed, nodding. With that, Shouta opened the door and walked out, heading for the couch once more. He flopped back onto the couch and stared at the ceiling.

Faint thumps from the ceiling reached his ears and he snuggled further into the couch. You were happy here, at least, he thought you were from what he’s seen so far. But, there was still something so off. Shouta closed his eyes, quickly dozing off. He didn’t know what exactly you went through, but he did know one thing about your current situation; he never wanted to see you so afraid at a comforting word ever again.

He fell asleep.

* * *

_ “Did everybody get home safely?” -You _

You sat down on your bed and placed your phone on your nightstand. You rolled onto your stomach just as a string of buzzes alerted the arrival of texts. Grabbing your phone, you turned it on.

_ “Yup! What about you, Aleah?” -Bubbles _

_ “I’m still on the train..” -Hard Mode _

_ “Ack! It’s raining where I am!” -Chargebolt _

_ “Help!” -Chargebolt _

_ “You better run, boy! Lightning McQueen it!” -You _

_ “..who?” -Chargeolt _

_ “YOU UNEDUCATED SWINE!” -You _

_ “*Laughing emoji*” -PinkJellyBean _

_ “*Laughing emoji*” -Sticky Spider _

_ “Wait, who is Lightning McQueen?” -Hard Mode _

_ “I’m done with you all..” -You _

_ “Isn’t that the name of the main character of Cars?” -Strawberry _

_ “Ding ding ding! You are correct, good sir!” -You _

_ “How do you guys know this?!” -PinkJellyBean _

_ “Kaachan and I used to watch it a lot when we were younger. I uh, don’t remember much of it. It’s an old movie, from the early 2000’s.” -Strawberry _

_ “Wait, seriously? How good is it?” -Chargebolt _

_ “I don’t remember..sorry.” -Strawberry _

_ “Aleah? What about you?” -Bubbles _

You smiled, eyes straying away from your phone. 

_ “I had a family member who was really big into history. He was studying to be a historian, and he loved watching old things. Once he watched Cars for the first time, he was hooked and continued to watch it over and over again. A lot of the times he did, he dragged me into it as well.” -You _

_ “Also, his quirk is pretty much a photographic memory, so he only had to watch it once to be able to mimic the characters! It was pretty funny!” -You _

You paused and wiped away a stray tear. As far as you knew, Lavi and Bookman were still MIA, and you had a feeling they were taken by the Noahs. You blinked back into the present and looked down at your phone. No one had said anything in the past three minutes you had been spacing out for.

_ “I recommend watching it!” -You _

_ “Aka, you want to shower us in jokes that would’ve gone straight over our heads if we don’t.” -PinkJellyBean _

_ “Exactly!” -You _

Pandora bumped into your head and you glanced up at it. A holograph appeared in front of it with the image of a digital clock. It was eleven. You squeaked and turned back to your phone.

_ “Ack, gotta go! Good night, guys!” -You _

You plugged your phone into it’s charger and turned off the light, diving under your covers. Aithusa hopped up next to you and curled up, leaning against you. You smiled and ran a hand over her fur. “‘Night, Aith. Pandora,” The little golem flapped closer, “Stand guard. You know the rules by now.” It bopped up and down and landed on your nightstand, screen quickly turning dark.

You snuggled into your warm covers and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

“Master? Where are you, Master?!” You called out, walking through the empty streets. You were in a neighborhood, it was summer, and the sun was beating down on you harshly. You sucked in a breath to call out once more when you saw a group of boys run past you up ahead. “Wait, hello?” You forced your heavy feet to move faster, slowly shifting into a jog. You rounded the corner to see the group of four staring at you.

“What the heck are you doing?” The one with blood red eyes yelled at you, his hands holding onto a ball. “Why are you wearing a coat out here in the summer?” Those eyes traveled down to your legs, and you shuffled your feet. They met your gaze again and you flinched. “Are you insane?” You tilted your head, panting a little. While it was true that your coat was smoldering, you knew you couldn’t take it off. The Akuma would ignore you and go for the boys in front of you if you did that.

“Can you help me?” You ask and glance back up to meet their gazes  ~~_ (Why can’t you see their faces? What’s wrong with their faces?!) _ ~~ . “I’m looking for my grandpa. We were walking around and got separated, and I think I took a wrong turn somewhere. Have you seen an old man with long hair and a black cloak with gold lining?” You glanced around. “And, where am I, exactly? I’ve never been here before..” The leader of the group scoffed and turned around, walking away.

“Hah! There’s no way I’m falling for that!” What? “I’m not dumb, I’ve seen the news! There’s no way I’m going to chase after you and get kidnapped!” You blinked. “Are there kids missing?” You call out as two of the remaining boys followed him. The last boy glanced wildly between you and the others, his pretty green eyes looking conflicted. They stopped and turned back around. The one with red eyes glared at you. “Well yeah, idiot. Have you not been watching the news lately?  Kids are going missing left and right!” You frowned. “Then why are you leaving a little girl all alone in the middle of an empty street? That’s hardly heroic.” The boy flinched and his expression darkened. You felt a bolt of fear run through you as he walked towards you, throwing the ball to the side. His palms lit up with crackles, and he grinned manically. You stepped back. You recognized that look; the Crow gave you that same look when you disobeyed orders.

“How dare you say I’m not heroic!” The boy yelled and grabbed the collar of your jacket. His other hand continued to crackle and he tugged you forward. You stared into his eyes calmly and your mouth opened by itself. “You’re not acting like a Hero, though. Heroes should help anyone in need, and here you are trying to walk away from a lost little girl and threatening her when she calls you out.” He growled and punched you in the face. His hand let go of you, and you fell to the rough ground. You hissed as his quirk dug into your cheek, and you glanced up at him with a neutral expression. “I am heroic! And I’ll prove it to you by becoming the best damn Hero you’ll ever see!” You whistled as Pandora flapped closer to your head. “How old are you? I don’t think your parents would be happy you’re cursing already.”

“Shut up!” He glared at you, and your gut twisted slightly. You tried to scoot away as fast as you could, but your boot clad feet were too heavy. The boy raised his foot and kicked your side. You inhaled sharply and curled up, gritting your teeth. You’ve endured harsher blows, this is nothing. “ ~~Kaachan~~! Stop it!”  ~~_ (Kaachan, Kaachan, where have you heard that before?!) _ ~~ The kid above you glanced over his shoulder. “Hah?!”

“Leave her alone! Can’t you see she can barely walk?” The kid with the pretty green eyes stepped closer to him, his nervous expression stiffening as your current abuser glared at him. You sat up and slowly shifted onto your knees, trying (and failing) to stand once more. “Shut up,  ~~_ Deku _ ~~ !”  ~~_ (Deku, you’ve heard that, too!) _ ~~

The boy flinched and glanced down at the ground. The two boys behind him laughed loudly at him as the red eyed one picked up his ball once more. He walked past the boy and shoved him. You winced as he cried out at the impact, and the three boys ran away laughing. You narrowed your eyes at their retreating backs. “Are you alright?” You called out, and the boy squeaked and jumped. “U-Um, yeah! I’m okay! Are you?” He stood up and ran over to you. Crouching, he glanced down at your legs. “Do you need some help?”

You glanced down at the gravel underneath you and nodded slowly. The kid smiled brightly (why does that hurt your chest..?) and stood back up, holding out his hands to you. You felt your cheeks warm up and you fiddled with your sleeves. “I’m kinda heavy, so maybe you should get an adu-” The kid grabbed onto your hands and pulled. You squeaked and quickly pushed up with your legs, trying to keep him from hurting himself from your weight. Once again, you cursed the extra weight your Innocence gave you. Finally, after a full minute of him straining, you were standing again. He puffed out a breath and smiled tiredly at you. “There you go!”

“Thank you,” You mumbled and pulled at your right sleeve. You glanced away from his shining face, “Does he do that often? Your friend?” You winced as his face tightened. That was probably not the best thing to blurt out. The boy glanced over his shoulder. “You said you were lost?” He turned back to you with another smile, and you nodded. He grabbed your hand and pointed down the street. “Come on, my home is nearby! Maybe my mom can help you?” 

You allowed him to pull you along with him gently as he walked down the street. As you walked, you listened to his rambles about the Heroes in the country. At some point, the subject shifted, and you had no idea when. “So, where are you from?”

You blinked in surprise when he paused enough to allow you to cut in. Your lips twitched upward. “England.” He turned to you with wide eyes. “Where’s that?” You shrugged. “On the other side of the world? I can’t tell you off the top of my head. Sorry..”

“That’s alright! Maybe you can show me later? Oh, we’re here!” He quickly climbed the metal stairs, leaving you behind. You followed him slowly while he paused at a door. Once you reached the top of the staircase, he unlocked the door and stepped in, quickly tugging his shoes off. He held the door for you open, and you stood in the small space while the kid ran off somewhere. “Mom? Are you here?” You hummed and glanced around. 

It was a short hallway, with two doors on either side of you. One had a sign hanging  ~~_ (Why can’t you read it?! You should be able to read it! What’s going on here?!) _ ~~ and the other was cracked open. The light was off, but you thought you saw a sliver of your reflection inside. A little past that door was another room. You couldn’t see into it from where you were. Suddenly, the boy returned from the opposite room from the one you were just looking at with a woman in tow. She blinked down at you in shock. “Mom?” She hummed and glanced down at the boy. “She says she’s lost! She got separated from her grandpa, and she’s never been around here before! Do you think we can help?” The woman smiled down at him and patted his head, turning to look at you with that same warm smile. “Of course! What’s your name, sweetie?” She crouched down to your height. You tugged on your right sleeve again.

“A-Aleah. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” You mumbled and her smile grew. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well! Now, how about you take off your boots and go play with ~~Izuku~~ while I call your grandpa, okay?” You shook your head. The boy let out a small whimper. “No?”

“I can’t take off my boots! Something bad might happen if I do!” You frowned, hand tugging faster on your sleeve. The woman quickly placed a gentle hand on yours and shushed you quietly. “Okay, okay! You don’t have to take it off! Do you know your grandpa’s number?” Your frown deepened, and you shook your head. You glanced to the floor and played with your fingers. “Sorry..”

“No, no! It’s okay! Really!” The woman placed her hands on your shoulders. She glanced down at your boots once more. “..Is there a reason you can’t take your boots off?” You bit your lip. “I-”

Should you tell her? No, you shouldn’t. She doesn’t know anything, and you didn't know of any supporters in this area. Then what should you say? “I-It’s my quirk.” Your chest burned at the lie. “I’m not allowed to take them off if I don’t have permission.” You avoided her eyes, and she hummed. “Well, you have permission from me?” You hid the bottom of your face behind your sleeves, wrapping your arms around your head. Is it a good idea? Should you go ahead? You rocked on your heels...Your feet were heavy, your legs were tired, and you’ve been walking for about an hour now. Now that you think about it, you doubt you’ll be able to last long with them on. Master always told you to take breaks from the boots if their weight was too much at times.

You groaned and bent over. Your boots instantly melted into a pair of regular dress shoes, and you slid them off. Placing them next to the boy’s shoes, you stood up and hesitantly met her eyes. Her giant smile had morphed into a small one, and with a sigh, she gently pushed you towards her son while she stood up. “Go on, I’ll just be in the kitchen if you need me!” She walked away and disappeared in the room to the left. You turned to the boy, and he gave you a shaky smile. For a moment, it was quiet. 

You glanced down for a split second and slowly reached out a hand. The boy instantly latched onto it and gently tugged you to what you assumed was the living room. He guided you to the couch and let go, running over to a cabinet with controllers and DVD cases. You hopped up onto the comfy surface and watched as he dug through the cabinet. “Do you wanna play some video games?” He asked and glanced over at you. You blinked. You had seen video games before, but you’ve never been able to play one. You’ve..always wanted to play one..

Your lips twitched again, tugging upwards into what you thought was a smile. The boy’s face lit up once he saw it. “I’ve never played one before. Can we?” He nodded and picked up the controllers. “What do you wanna play? I’ve got some fighting games, where you pick a character and fight another person’s character, Minecraft, Undertale, and a few others as well!” You hummed. You’ve heard of Undertale before! Lenalee mentioned it once to another scientist! “C-Can we play Undertale?” He nodded and placed the disk in a game system. With a bounce, he hopped onto the couch next to you and handed you a controller. “Here you go! You can go first!”

“Thank you.” You gave him a small smile and he beamed. Finally, the game finished loading and you started the game. Just as you were introduced to the motherly goat, the woman from before entered the room. You paused the game (with a little help from the boy next to you) and turned to her as she cleared her throat. She smiled down at you. “So, how do you feel about going out?” You tilted your head as your new friend bounced up and down. “Oh! Where are we going?”

“The police station. Unfortunately, Aleah can’t stay here without her guardians knowing, and seeing as we can’t get in contact with them, we’re going to have to wait for them to show up at the station.” She turned back to you. “Are you hungry? We can get some food on the way!” You hummed and nodded, hopping off the couch and returning the controller to the boy. You turned  and ran towards your boots, quickly sliding them on. You winced as the heavy weight returned. The boy and woman appeared, slipped on their outdoor shoes, and led you outside. The woman grabbed both your and the boy’s hands and walked you to their car. 

The boy detached from her and opened one door, letting you climb in first before sliding in after you. As you buckled yourself in, you watched as he bounced up and down, face beaming. The woman climbed in and started the car. “You two buckled in?”

“Yeah!” The boy threw a fist in the air and you nodded. “Good!” The woman cleared her throat and spoke in a funny voice, “This is your captain speaking! We are ready to take off! Please keep hands, feet, and objects inside the vehicle at all times! Begin take off in five!” She turned and started backing out of the reserved slot, “Four!” The boy joined in on the apparent countdown, and you glanced between them confusedly, “Three! Two!” The woman finally stopped backing out and maneuvered the car around. “One! Blast off!” She cried with the boy and she started driving out of the parking lot. Once on the road, she glanced into the rear view mirror and met your gaze. “Do you want to listen to music?”

You flinched and glanced down into your lap, nodding. The radio was turned on, and your foot tapped with the beat. The boy started rambling again, and even though you couldn’t understand a single word he was saying, you listened intently. You caught a few words here and there, like All Might, and you felt your lips twitch once more. “Ah, we’re here!” You blinked and turned to the clock you could see. Thirty minutes passed since you left. You turned and looked out the window. A building loomed in front of you, and you inched away from it as you slowly unbuckled yourself.

The duo of forest green waited for you as you stared up at the station with a scrunched up face. You slowly grabbed the woman’s waiting hand and followed her as she walked inside the building. As she talked to an officer, you glanced over at the boy and tilted your head. The boy fought back a smile and mirrored you. Your lips twitched once more and tugged upwards, and you stuck out your tongue, squinting one eye. The boy giggled and tried to mimic you as you cycled through all the funny faces Master showed you when you weren’t feeling well. He wasn’t here now, and you don’t want to bother the kind lady again, so you had to make do. “Aleah? Do you mind going with this officer?” You whipped your head up to meet the woman’s gaze, face still set in a quickly fading funny expression, and you glanced over at the officer. He smiled down at you, and you tucked your tongue back in your mouth. With a glance up to the twin sets of pretty green eyes, you reluctantly slipped away and followed the officer.

He led you to an empty room and you slipped into one of the comfy chairs. He left the door open and sat down in front of you. “Hello, what’s your name?” You played with your sleeve again. “..Aleah.” You mumbled. The man smiled at you. “It’s nice to meet you, Aleah. I’m ~~Tsukauchi~~. Can you tell me what happened leading up to meeting the ~~Midoriya’s~~?” You hummed and glanced down. “My grandpa and I were shopping for some food, and we got separated. I thought he was one way, and I walked that way for a while. And when I couldn’t find him, I tried  to turn back around, and I got lost. I somehow went from the market to a neighborhood,” You pulled at the sleeve in your hand, “And then I ran into them! And before you ask, I don’t know my grandpa’s number. That’s why we’re here.” The man nodded and leaned forward. 

“I believe you, except the fact that you’re here with your ‘grandpa’.” Your heart sank, and you glanced up at him. “He’s not really your grandpa, is he?” You averted your eyes. The man continued. “My quirk allows me to feel when someone is lying, and every time you mentioned your ‘grandpa’, it goes off. If you lie about this, I’ll know.” Slowly, you shook your head. “Is he threatening you? Hurting you?” You glared up at him and rapidly shook your head. “No! Master is tasked to train me, nothing else!”

“Train you?” The man glanced over your coat, and his eyes lit up while his mouth frowned. “You’re an Exorcist, aren’t you? Your ‘grandpa’ is really the general training you.” You nodded, hand pulling harshly at your sleeve. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think we can contact him. Though, I can send word out to the other police stations in the city that he can find you here.” You shrugged and slid off of the chair, heading for the door. The world blurred together, and suddenly, you were staring down at a world map eating french fries with your new friend by your side.

You tapped a finger on the drawn representation of England. “There it is! And here,” You slid your finger to Japan, “Is where we are!” 

“Wow! You’re from so far away, huh?” You nodded and stuffed more fries into your mouth. “Mmhmm!” The boy turned to you with stars in his eyes. “What does it look like? Is it pretty?! What are the Heroes like?!” You hummed, nibbling on another fry. You glanced down at his untouched ones. “Well, it is pretty, but I don’t know much about the Heroes over there.” Your hand slowly crawled over to his fries. Another pair of hands swooped in and tickled him, making him laugh loudly. His hands whipped around as he twisted this way and that, and you abandoned your mission in favor of watching him squirm from his mother’s relentless attacks. With a squeal, he finally managed to push her hands away. “Mom!”

“ ~~Izuku~~ , you should know better than to leave your food unguarded!” She laughed lightly and retreated her hands, “Aleah almost stole your fries!” The boy gave you a shocked look, and you quickly shifted your faintly amused one to a look of complete innocence. “Aleah! How could you?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” You say and pop another fry in your mouth. He whined and quickly hovered his hands over his fries. With a shrug, you look away and spin slowly in the rolly chair. “So, what do you wanna do now?” The boy hummed. “Maybe we can play on one of their computers?”

“Or you could use my phone?” His mother cut in, holding out her device. You stop spinning to peer at it, and the boy smiled. “Really? Thank you!” He took the phone and turned it on, quickly  tapping his way to her apps. “I’ll be right back, okay?” The woman leaned down and planted a kiss on the boy’s fluffy head. “I just have to talk to someone. Don’t go anywhere without me, alright?” You nodded as her son beamed. “Okay mom! Oh, let’s play this game!” He shoved the phone into your face and you peered closer at it. You weren’t quite sure what it was about, but it had a little figure with a red scarf showcased in the app page. You shrugged. “Okay.” He cheered and scooted his huge chair closer to your own one. 

As the game started up, you glanced up at him and tilted your head to the side. His pretty green eyes blinked and suddenly, they were staring into your (e/c) eyes. “Aleah? What’’s wrong?” Your eyes squinted and you leaned closer. He let out what suspiciously sounded like a whimper and leaned back slightly. “Aleah?”

“Why didn’t you use your quirk to defend yourself?” He blinked. “Huh?” You huffed out a puff of air and planted your chin in your left hand. “It’s been bugging me the entire day. You didn’t use your quirk earlier when ~~Kaachan~~ , was it? Pushed you into the ground. And judging by the state of your shirt,” You glance meaningfully at the scorch mark on his shoulder, “He definitely used his quirk on you. Why didn’t you protect yourself?” The boy shifted and glanced away. After a minute of tense silence, he spoke. “I don’t want to tell you, you might leave.”

“I won’t. Not from whatever you’re thinking of.”

“All my other friends left, and I doubt the ones I still have are going to stick around for much longer. And some of my classmates have already begun to pick on me because of it.” Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, and he sniffled. You felt a pang in your chest, and you slowly reached out a hand. You rubbed your thumb over his eyes, wiping away his tears, and he met your gaze. “ ~~Izuku~~ , I’m going to be straight with you. I’m probably going to leave the country pretty soon, like in the next few days pretty soon. My grandpa and I are only visiting, after all. Whatever you’re thinking of that scared your classmates won’t scare me off. I promise. I won’t care what it is, unless you did something really bad. Did you?” He shook his head rapidly. “No!”

“Then what’s the matter?” You remove your hand and sit straight. The kid lowered his eyes. “Do you know what ~~‘Deku’~~ means?” Your eyes squinted again. “No, sorry.”

“ ~~Kaachan~~ used some characters from my name and turned it into an insult. It means ‘useless’.” He started crying a little. “Everyone in my class says that since I don’t have a quirk, I can’t become a H-Hero. A-And I want to-want to be one so,  _ s-so b-ba-bad _ .” He furiously wiped away his tears, but they just kept coming. “But since I’m quirk- _ quirkless _ , everyone doesn’t-doesn’t like me anymo-ore. A-And every time I make new fr-friends, they always leave when they find out!” You frowned and reached out. “They think I’m useless, an-and that I can-can’t ever be a Her-Hero.” Gently placing your hand on his cheek, you guide his face up so you can look him in the eye. “Aleah? What are-”

“You’re not useless. Far from it.” You rubbed your thumb into his freckled cheek and glanced away. “..Can I tell you a story?” He nodded hesitantly. You took a deep breath and closed your eyes. “So, once upon a time, there was this group of people. Now, no one knew of them, and only a select few had certain gifts. These gifts made them powerful, almost like gods. They were like quirks, but most of the time, they weren’t a part of a person, and only about a hundred people in the world could have them. When one person was unable to wield these gifts, they passed them on to another.” You open your eyes and wipe away the rest of the kid’s tears. He let you without a fuss.

“Now, there was this disaster waiting to happen that would wipe out all of humanity, and those with these gifts were the only ones who could stop it. But they couldn’t do it alone. The ones who didn’t have any gifts couldn’t prevent the disaster from happening, but they could help take the weight off of the gifted shoulders. The gifted would be busy training or out and about to stop the disaster while the ungifted would travel the world in search of rumors of the disaster. If they found them true, they would accompany the gifted to stop the disaster in those areas, and help however they can.” You paused as a cop walked by, eyes tracking his movements. Once he was out of earshot, you continued.

“They couldn’t help directly, and some could argue and say they were useless, but they could do things that the gifted normally couldn’t do. They had these machines that could create barriers, and they could protect innocent bystanders from the backlash of the gifts and the disaster. Or, they could be working on ways to upgrade the gifts, or on preventing the disaster. They weren’t weak and useless. In fact, the gifted depended on them to get the job done. They were far from being useless, just like how you’re far from being useless.” You leaned back into your chair when you finished. The boy in front of you glanced away again. “But, I can’t be a Hero. I’m still quirkless.”

“You’re my hero.” He blinked and whipped his head back up. “What?” You felt your lips tug upwards into a smile. “You helped me when I couldn’t get up by myself, you made sure I wouldn’t be another victim to that kidnapper, and you’re making sure I’m alright by playing with me. You’re my hero whether you like it or not. And, I believe you can be a Hero.” Tears appeared in his wide eyes again. “Though, I will warn you, it may not be how you envisioned it at first. You may not be able to become a professional Hero, but with your heart of gold, I believe a lot of people will consider you their hero in the future, regardless if you have a quirk or not.” Your smile widened. “And who knows? Maybe you just have this weird mutation in your foot that’s fooling the doctors and you do actually have a quirk? Maybe it’ll come in in the future?” You watched as your new friend’s mouth wobbled, pulling itself into a watery smile.

“Aleah, thank you.” You shrugged. “No problem!”  
  
“Aleah!” Your eyes widened and you whipped your head around to the front. Standing next to the green woman was your master. He met your gaze, and his mustache moved into what looked like a smile. “Grandpa!” You screeched and slid off of your chair, jogging towards him.

Once you finally reached him, he crouched and you wrapped your arms around him. You shoved your face into his chest and whispered softly. “I’m sorry.” Master chuckled and squeezed you. “It’s alright. You couldn’t have known that would happen.”

“Ah, you must be Aleah’s grandfather!” You moved your head to see the man from earlier striding towards you. You hummed and slid out of Master’s arms. Your friend grabbed hold of your hand and squeezed. You felt your mouth smile and you squeezed back. Your master and the man shook hands. “Thank you for looking after Aleah.” He bowed his head to both the woman and the man. You scooted closer to the boy next to you. “Oh, it was no problem at all!” The woman smiled and waved her hands around. “Really! You don’t have to do that!” You tuned them out and shifted your hand around, intertwining your fingers with your friend’s.

They stopped talking after a few minutes, and you blinked. The world shifted, and you were back outside. You noticed the rental car that you were using in the parking lot besides the woman’s and your hand squeezed tighter on the boy’s once more. “Aleah?” He called, and you turned to meet his gaze. He smiled brightly.

“I wanna say again, thank you, for what you said earlier.” You nodded and quickly slid your arms around his waist. He let out a noise and slowly wrapped his own arms around you. You squeezed him tighter for a moment and stepped back with a smile. His pretty green eyes stared at you as you fiddled with your sleeves. “ ~~Izuku~~ , thank you, for today,” You let out a giggle, and watched as his face turned red, “I had a lot of fun with you. Be safe, okay? Oh, and one more thing!” You felt your lips smile on their own accord. “I think you’ll be a great Hero someday. Until we meet again, _Hero_.”

* * *

You opened your eyes and sat up, blinking blearily at your door. ‘What.’ You turned to your alarm clock. Five minutes before you had to get up. ‘What.’ You glanced down at Aithusa. She shifted in her sleep, snorting every now and then. ‘What?’ You glanced up at your ceiling. The soft fairy lights in your room cast little shadows onto it, and you blinked up at it before lowering your head. Your hands slowly came up and grabbed fistfulls of your hair. ‘What was that?!’

You let go of your hair and slapped your hands into your face. ‘..Was that a memory or a dream?’ You rubbed your cheeks. ‘..And why can’t I remember their names? Or faces?’

* * *

“BAHAHA! HOLY CRAP! WHAT THE HECK, BAKUGOU?!” Izuku jumped and whipped his head up. Kaachan had just come through the door with-what...What happened to his hair..? The door opened again as he growled, shaking. You stepped in with Aithusa and stopped, staring straight at his hair. You quickly covered your mouth and your shoulders started shaking. “Stop laughing..My hair’s gotten used to this and I can’t get it back the right way..!” 

Kirishima and Sero continued to laugh, and you leaned against the doorframe for support. “Did you not hear me..? I’ll kill you both!” Izuku blinked...Did he just hear a voice crack?

“I’d like to see you try, pretty boy!” Kaachan’s hair suddenly puffed up like an angry cat, and Izuku slapped a hand over his mouth. You lost the battle and doubled over, cackling loudly. “WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!” Kirishima and Sero screeched something through their laughs, and you almost slid down onto the ground. 

“Now, if you want to talk about the ones who really changed,” Izuku’s ears perked up and he glanced over at Kaminari. The blond teen gestured to him, Todoroki, and Iida, “It was those three.” The entire class’ attention shifted to them. “Oh yeah! The Hero Killer” Sero called out with a grin, hanging by one of Kaachan’s hands. Kirishima hung from the other. “Glad you guys made it back alive! Seriously!” You finally recovered (mostly) and walked slowly to your seat with your arms wrapped around your stomach, still giggling.

The rest of his classmates crowded around them. “I worried about you, too..”

“You’re lucky Endeavor showed up and saved you guys!”

“So cool! Just what I’d expect from the Number Two Hero!” Out of the corner of his eye, Izuku watched as Todoroki lowered his head. “Yeah, that’s right. He saved us.” Izuku smiled. And then, the conversation moved on to Stain, and Izuku listened quietly. Until-

“He’s actually kinda cool, don’t you guys think?” Izuku flinched. “Kaminari!” Kaminari’s eyes widened a second later, and he slapped a hand over his mouth. He heard you snort as you laid your head on your arms. Kaminari whispered something, and Iida lifted his arm up to look at the bandages under his sleeve. “No, it’s okay. You’re fine. It is true that he’s quite a tenacious villain. I understand why people might think he’s cool. But instead of helping the world, his beliefs led him to cold blooded murder. No matter his motives, killing cannot be condoned. To keep anyone else from suffering like me, well,” He suddenly whipped his opposite arm up and karate chopped the air, “I promise, I will strive to be the perfect Hero!” Izuku felt his smile widen. He was so proud!

“Yeah! Let’s do it!” He quickly chimed in. Iida then puffed up like a bird and swung his arms. “It’s time for class to begin! Everyone, please take your seats!” You started laughing again as the rest of his classmates muttered among themselves. Izuku smiled at his back. ‘Way to go, Iida!’

“There’s the Class Rep we know and love!” You called out with a large smile.

* * *

“I AM HERE! Hope you’re ready to return to our lessons! Today is Hero: Basic Training!” All Might stood in front of the crowd of students with his hands on his hips. “Feels like I haven’t seen you in awhile! Welcome back! Now then, listen carefully for what’s in store! We’re going to be conducting a little race! Take everything you’ve learned from your internships and apply it to this rescue training!” As Iida’s hand shot up, Izuku heard manic giggles from his right. He and Todoroki turned and glanced at you.

You were bouncing up and down with a giant grin on your face. Izuku shook his head with a smile.

“If it’s rescue training, then shouldn’t we be at the U.S.J instead?” All Might shook his head. “Ah! That facility specializes in disasters! As I said earlier, this is a race!” Cue another bout of manic giggles from you. “So! Prepare! You’re about to step into Field Gamma! Inside is an area full of factories that form an intricate labyrinth, so good luck finding your way around!” Your giggles turned into dark cackles, and Izuku felt his awed smile slowly fade the longer you laughed. By now, the rest of the class was glancing at you as you bounced in place.

“You’ll be competing in groups of five! Each person starts from different locations on the outskirts of the model city. I’ll send a distress signal, and you do what you must to rescue me! Whoever finds me first wins! But try to keep the property damage to a bare minimum, please!” You doubled over as All Might slowly pointed at Kaachan. “Why are you pointing at me..?” He growled lowly and All Might clapped his hands together. “All right, first group get to your places!”

* * *

Izuku stopped on what appeared to be a metal water tower and glanced around with determination coursing through his veins. He crouched with his hands on his knees and started stretching. He wasn’t very confident about winning this one; everyone else had their quirks longer than he did, and pretty much everyone in this group would be better at this race than he would be. But then again, he could very well get in first at the end if he plays his cards right. Well, only one way to find out!

“IS EVERYONE READY? BEGIN!” And the race was on with a loud honk.

* * *

“And it’s over!”

He slipped. And was in last place. Again. Izuku dropped to the ground face first. “Midoriya! Uh, you’re okay, right?”

‘I..see. When jumping in an area with unstable footing, I need to be careful where it is when landing..’ He slowly raised his head up. ‘I’ll have to remember that..’

“Young Sero may have come in first, but compared to the start of the year, you all showed me some incredible improvements!” All Might boomed above him. “Keep working and preparing for your upcoming final exams! Group One, leave the field! You’re up, Group Two!”

* * *

Izuku plopped down onto the cement hard. Uraraka poked his shoulder and he hummed. “That was incredible, Deku! How’d you do that?” He shrugged and closed his eyes, moving his head back to hang. “Guess I picked the right Hero to intern with.” 

“Well, that was pretty impressive, Midoriya! You managed to go from breaking your bones every time you used your quirk to zero broken bones in a week!” Iida added, hands chopping the air. Izuku chuckled and opened his eyes, raising his head once more to smile up at his friends. “Thanks!” He then turned to the screen in front of them and his remaining classmates talked to one another. “I’m betting Todoroki is going to win this one!” Kaminari said and crossed his arms. Ashido hummed. “Sorry, but I’m going with my girl, Aleah!”

“I say Bakugou!” 

“Hmm, Yaoyorozu might be at a disadvantage here. She might be the one in last.” 

“Wait, if she’s not the one in last, then it’s definitely going to be Mineta!” Kaminari called out. Izuku had to agree with him, Mineta’s quirk might not be best suited for this kind of training exercise. “ARE YOU ALL READY? BEGIN!” Once again, the race started with the loud honk.

Immediately, Kaachan started flying towards the center with a big boom. Izuku sighed. Looks like he was going to win agai-wait what? Izuku leaned closer to the screen with a gasp. ‘How..?’

You were quickly slipping through the pipes with your boots activated. You were only a blur, and Izuku’s eyes could barely keep up with your form. The way you moved reminded him of water, what with you slipping through pipes too close together for any person to slide through. “Woah,” He murmured, and suddenly you were swinging around a horizontal pipe. You let go and flipped, bouncing off of the side of a building. You twirl in midair with a huge smile on your face. You landed on another pipe and jumped, landing right next to All Might. Bakugou skidded to a halt a minute later and, by the looks of it, screeched. Izuku watched as you laughed at him.

“I KNEW IT!” Ashido screeched from behind him, throwing her fists into the air. “I KNEW IT! GO ALEAH!” She laughed. “Woo!” Uraraka started clapping. “I didn’t know she could do that!” Asui turned to her with her finger on her chin. “Me neither. That was certainly impressive.”

“GROUP TWO, YOU ARE DISMISSED. NEXT GROUP!”

* * *

You walked around the mostly empty school, humming. The clicks of Aithusa’s paws echoed through the hallways. Aizawa and Present Mic were back at the faculty room working on paperwork before you had to leave, so you decided to take this time to roam aimlessly in the halls. A door opened beside you just as you were walking past, and a voice startled you. “Oh, Walker!” You turned your head to see Midoriya coming out of a room. He closed the door behind him and walked closer to you with a huge smile. Your chest constricted painfully.

It reminded you of the boy from your dream.

“Hey, Strawberry!” You say and stop. He stopped next to you. “That was pretty cool, what you did earlier! When did you learn to do that?” You shrugged and fiddled with your sleeves. Midoriya’s green eyes flicked down towards them and widened a little. He met your gaze once more. “I’ve been doing that since I was little. My grandpa had me learn dance to help me with my quirk, and I also learned gymnastics as well! I think I just kinda..merge the two? And that happens?” Your smile slowly faded as you slipped into your thoughts. “To be honest, I’m not quite sure how I do it.” Midoriya started walking, and you joined him.

“Aren’t you going home?” He asked, glancing over at you. “My guardians are busy until a little later, and they don’t trust me to make it back safely on my own, so they just pick me up when one of them is free!” You start humming a tune. 

“Hey, uh, mind if I ask a random question?” You stop and give him a confused smile. “Shoot!” Midoriya stopped walking and you followed suit. He played with his backpack straps. “Why do you want to become a Hero? Uraraka and Iida told me their reasons, and it just got me curious. You don’t have to answer it at all!” He started waving his hands around frantically, mirroring the woman from your dream. ‘Is he..?’

You hum and glanced up at the ceiling. “Well, it’s probably not as good as your reason, but I guess I’m doing this because helping people is the only thing I know how to do.” Midoriya stopped and tilted his head. “What?” You shrug and smile at him, though even you knew it was a little subdued than normal. “I grew up helping people, even when they didn’t want my help, cause that’s what my family did. I grew up learning to fight for that exact same reason, and now I can’t think of anything else to do. I guess I thought that instead of wasting my talents on a desk job or something, I should use them doing what I know best. Saving people in distress.” You tilted your head to the side. “What about you?”   
  
Midoriya blinked and rubbed the back of his neck. “W-Well, I want to save people, too. I just can’t stand by and watch someone get hurt and not be able to help.” He glanced away with a soft smile on his face. “A lot of people didn’t think I could become one when I was little, and I guess that just made me more determined.” Before he could continue, you cut in. “Did your quirk come in late?” He slowly nodded and you snapped your fingers. “I knew it! Anyways, I’m kinda surprised you didn’t give up on your dream. Most people tend to do that when they’re constantly told they can’t do it.”

The both of you started walking again, and Midoriya laughed hesitantly. “Well, there were a few times I almost did. But, something an old friend of mine told me would always push me back to  my goal whenever I thought of giving up.” You turned a corner and started walking down the stairs. “An old friend?”

“Yeah!” He smiled brightly. “I don’t remember her face or name, though.” You hummed. This was starting to sound familiar. “Mind telling me about her?” Pandora suddenly appeared and flapped in front of your face. You leaned back as it pushed itself into your space bubble. Reaching with one hand, you grab and push the offending golem out of your face with a huff. “Sorry about that,” You mumbled as a text message appeared in front of Pandora’s screen. It was from Present Mic, “One of my guardians just texted me. So, where were we?” You turn back to the green eyed boy.

“We were about to talk about my friend?” You snapped your fingers. “Right!” Midoriya let out a small laugh and rubbed his neck. “W-Well, I can’t tell you much; I only knew her for like, a day.” You shrugged with a smile. “I don’t mind! Just tell me what you remember about her!” You really didn’t mind, in fact, you think you know exactly what was going to come out of his mouth with each second you talk about his friend. 

“Well, the main thing I remember about her is that..she never really smiled. She smiled about three times, maybe less, in a few hours. I didn’t know at the time, but she seemed off, like she went through something terrible. I didn’t think of that until I was older, though,” He frowned, “And she had these really weird boots. She could barely walk with them on, and yet she continued to wear them. They weighed her down, I don’t know how much, but I’m pretty sure they were painful on her.”

- _ Your heavy feet dragged painfully against the ground as you walked besides a tall man with a sword at his hip. He glowered at everything his eyes set on, helping the crowd stay away from the both of you. He didn’t really mind you much, but you knew he was starting to get impatient with your slow walking. He didn’t know about them, and you knew it was only a matter of time before he snaps at you to- _

_ “Hurry it up, dammit!” He spit at you, and you flinched. The two Finders behind you whispered to themselves and you stopped, glaring down at your heavy boot clad feet. Oh, if only you could just rip them off, then you could run truly free. Just like how the Innocence falsely promised you, just like how the priests and CROWS locked you up, ‘coincidentally’ keeping you from the tempting call the blue skies and open fields sang to you every time you laid eyes on it. _

_ Then maybe, you could fly with your fellow birds, and run with your fellow gazettes, to where the boy with the pretty green eyes lived. Oh, you desperately wished you could do so. _

_ It’s only been a month, and you missed him so much. Even when his face was slowly being melted into the other many different faces you’ve seen since. Even when he was slowly being forgotten by you...You hated the heavy boots, they were painful. _ -

“I met her when I was following Kaachan to the park. We had just passed this street, and I heard her call out. We stopped, and a minute later she appeared. She said she got separated from her grandpa, but Kaachan didn’t believe her.” Midoriya grimaced and you tilted your head. He was definitely him, all right. Those pretty emerald eyes from your dream  ~~_ (memory) _ ~~ turned to you. “Did you know that kids were disappearing a lot during that time? A lot more than normal?” You shook your head. 

But you did know, it was the whole reason why you went to Japan. The Finders thought Akuma were kidnapping and killing children there, and you were sent out to see if it was true. Ultimately, it was only some sicko kidnapping them, and Central called you back for other missions. You couldn’t stay and help, couldn’t keep an eye on your new friend. 

“Well, a lot of kids were disappearing by the time I met my friend. Kaachan thought she was sent by some kidnappers to lure in other kids, and he kinda tried to..force her away. After he left, I brought her to my home to keep her safe, and we went to the police station shortly after.” He turned away and smiled softly, stopping suddenly in the middle of the hallway. You looked around. You were almost to the front entrance, where you would have to part ways. With an inaudible sigh, you turned back to Midoriya. “I never saw her again afterwards, but..I never forgot about her. She was the first person to say I could become a Hero, even when I was quirkless at the time. I’m grateful that I met her at least once in my life, otherwise, I might not be here now.” His smile turned into a deep frown, and his eyes darkened in some kind of emotion.

..You didn’t really want to find out what he meant by that. Your gut twisted. Yeah, going down that road might be a bad idea.

You hum, glancing away towards the doors. “You know, it’s kinda funny. I would even say coincidental, if I believed in coincidences. I literally had a dream about a little boy with pretty green eyes helping me find my grandpa just last night.” You felt Midoriya shift besides you, and you tried to fight a growing grin off of your face. “After this one bully pushed me to the ground, he took me home and let me play Undertale with him. Then we went to the police station, where I showed him my home country and told him a little story. And then I said I thought he could be a Hero.” You felt his eyes on you, and you turned to meet his gaze. His large eyes were bigger than normal, and you thought you saw the beginnings of tears in them. You looked him up and down, considering.

“And I have to say, I agree with younger me. You’ll be a great Hero when we graduate. Hell, You are now!” Your smile widened, and tears started falling from Midoriya’s eyes. He sniffled, quickly bringing a hand up to rub at his eyes. Once he was done, he stared at you in shock. “Walker..”

You let out a giggle. “You can call me Aleah, you know. I won’t mind.” Midoriya’s hands flexed, and you watched them move curiously. Suddenly, they were wrapping around your body, tugging you forward until he was hugging you tightly. Midoriya buried his face into your neck, and you grunted. His shoulders shook, and you quickly wrapped your hands around them to  stop his trembling. “I can’t-I can’t believe it’s really you,” Midoriya mumbled, his voice weak and shaky, and you leaned your head against his, “I missed you so much.” You smiled sadly.

“I missed you, too, Strawberry.” Even if you forgot about him until recently, ever since you met him, there was a hole in your chest. It ached everyday, even more so during the days you couldn’t remember him. You felt that particular hole in your chest fill up the longer you held onto Midoriya.  ~~_ (..The second one ached more now that it’s friend was gone.) _ ~~

You blinked, and suddenly trails of hot wetness were trailing down your face. You sniffled, and hid your face into his shoulder a second time since you unknowingly reunited with him on the first day of school. Midoriya let out a sob, and his shoulders shook. You started giggling and pulled away slightly, wiping furiously at your eyes with one hand. Your friend stared at you, confused. 

“S-Sorry! It’s just, this whole thing feels kinda surreal for some reason. I don’t even know why I’m laughing!” You go back into the hug with a bright smile, squeezing Midoriya tightly. He grunted, and his arms tightened around you in response. A full minute passed before a thought hit you, and you quickly pulled back from Midoriya. “W-What?!” He yelped as you forcefully lean back to look at him properly.

“Don’t you have a train to catch? You do ride the train home, right?” Midoriya blinked, and then he was gone in a flash. You let out a noise and whipped your head around to see Midoriya sprinting for the doors. He waved at you over his shoulder. “Ah, bye Walker! I’ll talk to you later!” And he ran out the doors. You snorted, your laughter quickly bubbling out of you.

With one final rub at your eyes, you smiled down at Aithusa. She sat patiently by your side, and looked up as you leaned down and scratched her ear. “That was an..interesting reunion, huh? Definitely not the way I expected my afternoon to go. Now, let’s catch up with Mic and Aizawa, yeah?” You tugged on her leash and headed back to the faculty room.

* * *

Izuku smiled when he finally made it home. He unlocked his front door and took off his shoes, calling out. “I’m home! Mom?” He stood up and headed deeper into his apartment. His mother peeked her head out from the kitchen and her face brightened. “Izuku, there you are! I was starting to get worried about you!”

Izuku smiled and quickly hugged his mother before going inside his room to change into more comfortable clothing. Once he emerged from his room in a pair of red sweatpants and a hoodie, Izuku joined his mom in the kitchen.

“Hey, mom?” She turned around from the stove and smiled. “Yes?” Izuku bit his lip, trying to stop the smile from spreading. “Do you remember that little girl from when I was six? The one who got separated from her grandpa?” Inko blinked and her face lit up. “Oh, yes! I remember her! Oh, what was her name.” She muttered to herself and placed a hand on her chin. Izuku came closer and finally let the smile take over his face. “So, I just found out that she’s one of my classmates.” Inko paused.

“What?!” She turned fully and plopped her hands onto his shoulders. Izuku slowly started bouncing in place. “What’s her name? Did she recognize you? How?”

“Her name’s Walker Aleah, though she said I could call her Aleah,” Izuku felt his cheeks burn under Inko’s stare, “And I don’t think she recognized me on the first day of school. Honestly, I doubt she remembered me until recently.” Inko squealed. “Invite her over for dinner!” She cried and clapped her hands. Izuku watched as several small objects started floating towards her. “Um, mom?” He pointed towards the spatula that was about to smack her on the head.

"You might wanna calm down!"

* * *

_ “You know, you can call me Aleah. I really won’t mind!” -The Butterfly Effect _

Izuku fumbled with his phone once he saw the text. You were texting him. Holy cow,  _ you were texting him! Voluntarily!  _ He sat down heavily on his bed, staring at his phone’s screen. His thumbs twitched, reaching for the keyboard. He typed out a sentence, deleted, typed, deleted. Izuku whined.  _ Why is texting so hard?! _ It’s just you! 

You with that wonderful laugh, that just always tempted him to join in no matter what you were laughing at. You with the confidence he could only dream of having. You with your natural smile that radiated like the sun-

Wait.

His eyes widened, and the grip on his phone tightened. You didn’t smile when you first met. Your eyes looked hollow, and the memory of younger you reminded him of Todoroki, before the Sports Festival. He thought harder, eyes flicking around his room as his mind raced.

Your smile was very familiar, but not at the same time. You always smiled, even when there was no reason to. It was like, it was permanently bolted on your face. Izuku gasped. The smile you wear everyday is the one he showed you, but with some modifications. When the two of you first met, it was like you barely knew what happiness was. He could see it as a child, but he didn’t know what it was. He was surprised his mother didn’t notice it. Now he recognized what that look said.

Todoroki may have been filled with anger on the day of the Sports Festival, but Izuku could still see through all of that to what was underneath. He was angry at his dad, and yet he was still at least a little sorrowful about the broken relationship.

You had an almost exact look in your eyes when you were younger...You honestly looked like you had given up on something.

Izuku glanced back down at his now black phone. He turned it back on and stared at your text. You were still waiting for an answer. He frowned. What happened to you..?

He went to bed without ever answering you that night.

He woke up to news about the quarantine in shambles, and the dust was partially gone. More of those monsters had popped up somewhere, and were quickly dealt with by the mysterious vigilante. Izuku rubbed his neck.

What was going on in the world?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tada! i'm back with another chapter! i have to be honest, i wasn't exactly planning on Midoriya and Aleah knowing each other from their childhood, but the idea just came to me one day and wouldn't get out of my head, so they're now sort of childhood friends! i hope you all like this chapter, and that you'll have a wonderful day/night! you're all AWESOME! XP


	13. Chapter 12

You groaned and dropped your head to your arms. With a sigh, you glared at the book in front of you. The kanji glared back, and you closed the book with a thump. With a groan, you hid your face back into your arms. Learning a new language was hard, but you already knew how to speak japanese! Kanda had taught you over the years, even when he didn’t mean to! But of course, you didn’t have much time to learn how to read it. Or write.

God, this was hard.

You move your head to glance to the left. Standing next to your desk was a little stand. On top of the stand was your bonsai tree. It looked healthy, according to the guide book. You sat up and placed your chin onto your hand. You slowly turned back to the book in front of you. Maybe that was enough studying for today? The muscles in your legs twitched, and you nodded. Yeah, time to stop.

You stood up swiftly and ran out of your room, running down the steps. You stopped in front of the couch, where Aizawa laid in his sleeping bag, jogging in place. He grunted. “Aizawa! Can I go out? Pretty please? I need to move!” He turned his face away from you. “I can get some groceries? The store’s not that far, right?”

The man groaned and a hand snaked out of the yellow bag. “Fine, go ahead. You know where the card is. And no fighting!” You salute him and jump up and down. “Yes sir!” You ran back up the stairs and grabbed your heels. As soon as you had a good grip in them, you bolted towards the front door, grabbing the card and keys on the counter as you went. You opened the door and slammed it shut behind you, and proceeded to almost forget to lock the door.

You quickly shoved your feet into your shoes and ran down the street while Pandora flapped furiously near your head. You passed by Hizashi, who was walking your dog. You were gone before he could have the chance to call out to you. A few minutes passed by, and you were nearing the store.

Just as you turned the corner, an obstacle appeared, and you skidded to a halt. You were an inch away from running into the person in front of you, and you hopped a foot back. The person turned, and you were staring into green eyes. “Oh, Walker! Hi!” Midoriya greeted you cheerfully, and you smiled. “Strawberry!” You quickly enveloped him in a hug. “Sorry for almost running into you!” You say and step back, hopping from foot to foot. “O-Oh, it’s no problem! Really!” He waved his hands around wildly.

You hummed, and tilted your head. “Aleah.”

“H-Huh?” You smiled, amused. “You called me Walker again. Don’t you remember? I said you can use my first name!” He glanced away and rubbed his neck. “R-Right. Sorry.” You shrugged and moved around him, quickly grabbing his arm to pull him with you. “So, whatcha doin’?” You ask and let go of his arm. Midoriya fiddled with his fingers. “Well, I was going to the store to pick up a few things. You?” You turned to him with a furrowed brow. “Huh, that’s weird. I was, too.” You raised the card in your hand and smiled. “Mind me walking with you?” He rapidly shook his head. You nodded and linked your arm with his.

You felt the muscles in his arm tense, and you entered the store. “So, what do you need to get?” You say as you pick up two baskets. You hand one to Midoriya, and he quickly took his arm back from you to dig into his pocket. He pulled out a piece of paper. “Well, I need to get eggs, and some meat. What about you?” You hummed, glancing up at the ceiling. “Uh, milk, breakfast items, and dog food. I might be forgetting something, though.” You shrugged and headed for the dairy products. Midoriya jogged to catch up with you.

“So, where’s Aithusa?” He asked as he stopped to grab a carton of eggs. “One of my guardians was walking her while I was studying, and I had to move around desperately, so I kinda forgot about her,” You shrug while you place a gallon of milk in your basket, “I’m still kinda getting used to having a dog follow me around at all times..”

You blinked and frowned when your hand started aching. You glanced down at the hand holding your basket. Swiftly, you slid the basket onto your opposite arm and rub your hand. “What’s wrong?” Midoriya frowned at your hands, and you shrugged. “I have no idea.” It stopped aching, and with a frown, you lowered it to your side. The both of you entered the next aisle, and you quickly grab a couple boxes of poptarts. “So, what were you studying earlier? Do you need help?” Your friend asked as you left the aisle and headed over to the meat section. You scratch your cheek with your free hand with a nervous laugh.

“Don’t laugh.” Midoriya turned to you, hand hovering over a piece of meat that he wanted. “I would never.” You glanced away and pursed your lips. “I was learning how to read japanese.”

“You don’t already?” You shook your head. “Nah, I learned how to speak japanese from one of my family members, but I never had time to learn how to write, or read it. He didn’t even know I was learning from him, and he isn’t the teacher type. Honestly, I’m kinda having trouble with it.” Midoriya was silent for a minute. You glanced back over to him. The meat he wanted was now in his basket, and he was staring down at the ground with a focused look in his eyes. Right when you were going to start speaking again, he spoke. “Will it help if you have someone to teach it to you?” You closed your mouth with a click, and tilted your head. “Maybe? I don’t know.” Midoriya nodded and led you to the dog food. You quickly snatched a medium sized bag and stuffed it into your basket, shifting the red plastic to both of your hands. You then followed Midoriya to the checkout line, where he gently pushed you forward.

You glance back at him. “You sure you don’t want to go first?” He nodded, beaming. “Don’t worry! I want you to go first!” You shrugged. “Okay, if you’re sure.” You turned back and placed your items on the conveyor belt, quickly taking out Aizawa’s-wait no, this is Hizashi’s card! You quickly pay for your stuff and as you bag it up, Midoriya pays for his. Once you were done, you stood by the side, waiting. Midoriya soon joined you, and you walked out together.

“Do you want to come over to study?” Midoriya asked suddenly, and you quirked your lips to the side. “..Sure. Just let me put my stuff away, first. What’s your address?” The green curls bounced as he nodded, and he quickly rattled off his apartment address. “Okay, I’ll be there in about twenty minutes, maybe less. See you later!” With a wave, you turned and jogged back to your house  _ (it’s home, it’s home, it’s home) _ .

You unlocked the door once you arrived and slipped through the doorway. Hizashi let out a yell and slid over to you, taking the milk from your tired hands. With his help, you swiftly placed the groceries away, and you hopped towards the living room where Aizawa still laid. You leaned over the back of the couch with a grin. “Yo!” The yellow caterpillar shifted and groaned. Hizashi sat back in the chair he was sitting in earlier and you leaned your cheek on your hand.

“So, I ran into Midoriya on the way to the store.” The sleeping bag grunted. “We talked, and he offered to help me learn japanese.” Another grunt. “He lives close by.” Cue another grunt. “Can I go to his place?” And grunt number four reached your ears. “I’ll be back by ten, at the latest?” A hand snaked out of his sleeping bag and waved at you once more. Aizawa said nothing and snuggled into the soft couch. You nodded and stepped away from the couch, heading for the door again. “No fighting!” Hizashi yelled out, and you waved your hand over your shoulder. “Yeah, yeah! I know!”

And you walked outside, closed the door, and promptly turned and ran back inside. Hizashi watched you run upstairs to grab some of your homework and a few textbooks. You ran back downstairs and out the door. Locking it behind you, you jogged towards Midoriya’s apartment.  


You finally stopped next to a tall building and stared. It looked exactly like how it did in your dream. With a smile, you walked up the stairs and to a familiar door. You knocked, and shuffling footsteps headed towards you. The wood slab opened, and you were greeted by older, green eyes. You smiled, adjusting your books slightly. 

“Hello, again! I have to apologize, I don’t remember your name. I’m Aleah!” The woman’s face split in a warm smile, and she tugged you inside. “Oh, come in, come in! Izuku!” She glanced over her shoulder as she closed the door behind you, “She’s here!” You took off your heels as a door to your right swung open, and Midoriya’s head popped out. He immediately beamed. “H-H-Hey!”

“Hey!” You greet back, and suddenly he was ducking back into his room. “Just give me a moment!” He called, and his mother guided you to the kitchen. You glanced around as you sat down at the table, placing your books and paper on it. “It’s exactly how I remember it,” You mumbled, and the woman sat down next to you. “You can call me Inko, sweetie!” She said and patted one of your hands. You turned to her and smiled. “Oh, it’s been so long since I’ve last seen you! How are you?”

You shrugged. “I’m doing fine.” Before you could continue, Inko clapped her hands. “Oh! You should stay for dinner! I’m making katsudon tonight!”

“You are?!” You jolted and turned around as Midoriya appeared. He had a giant grin on his face. Inko nodded and stood up, flitting about the room. Your eyes followed her, amused. You turned to see Midoriya sitting down in the chair across from you, and he paused. “What’s wrong?” You ask.

“Did you forget Aithusa again?” You stopped, and hit your forehead onto the table with a groan.

* * *

_ “Soo, Midoriya’s mom wants me to stay over for dinner.” -You _

_ “..And?” -The Unhelpful Caterpillar _

_ “Do you mind if I stay?” -You _

_ “I don’t mind, as long as you get back by 9! Sho?” -Loud, Blond, Fun Canary _

_ “..Fine. Do whatever.” -The Unhelpful Caterpillar _

_ “Thank god you guys agreed! I thought for sure she was going to drag me kicking and screaming to eat with them!” -You _

You smiled and pocketed your phone as Midoriya stood up. You helped him clear the table of any school work and move it into the living room. He ran back into the kitchen to set the table and you tried to help, but Inko gently pushed you out. “Hey, wait! Inko!” You protested, and she pushed you to sit on the couch and pointed a finger at you. “Stay right there! You’re the guest, I don’t want to see you out of this seat unless we’re eating.” You shrank back, your normal smile faltering slightly as she leveled a motherly stare at you. She didn’t leave until you nodded.

Just as she entered the kitchen, Midoriya slipped out and sat next to you. You both were silent for a minute. “So,” Midoriya jolted, and you glanced over at him, “You still have Undertale?” He blinked and nodded. With a nod, you turned and stared into the blank T.V. “That’s good.”

“Do you..want to play it again?” You shrugged. “If you’ll let me.”

“Time to eat!” Inko called out. You glanced over at the kitchen and stood up. Midoriya followed you in and all three of you sat down. Midoriya bounced in his seat as he served himself some katsudon, and once Inko had a portion, you quickly grabbed some for yourself. You picked up your chopsticks and subtly glanced at both of the Midoriyas’ hands. They expertly started eating the meal, chatting with each other, and you quickly tried to pick up some of your food.

Thankfully, unlike the first time you used chopsticks, you were able to grab a small piece of the fried pork. Unfortunately, while you were slowly moving it into your mouth, you dropped it back into the bowl. You paused and whined softly. You tried again, and it fell once more. You frowned and very slowly pinched the pork tightly and picked it up, guiding it into your mouth. Your lips closed around it, and you quietly made a fist with your opposite hand and jolted your arm down slightly in victory. Someone tried covering up a laugh, and you looked up to see two pairs of green eyes watching you.

You blinked and gently set your chopsticks down, cheeks starting to burn. You chewed and, covering your mouth, spoke. “It’s good!” 

Inko burst into laughter as she got up to get you a fork.

* * *

“I remember you,” You say as the yellow flower on the screen swayed back and forth, “You’re not tricking me again!” You dodged the “friendliness pellets” and watched as Flowey stopped. Midoriya, sitting next to you and covered by one of his soft blankets, covered his mouth and snickered. “You know, you really should’ve told me about the ability to piss off Flowey from the beginning.” You dodged once more, and Flowey glared at you. With a giggle, you dodged his next attack. 

“This is so much fun!” And then you were surrounded by his bullets. Again. Flowey laughed as the white seeds slowly inched closer to your floating heart. You leaned back into the comfy couch as Toriel threw a fireball into Flowey’s face. 

“You know, I know next to nothing about both your mom and goat mom here, but I swear they’re one and the same.” Midoriya covered his face with both of his hands and laughed while you followed the large goat out of the dark room. “Funny, that’s exactly what I thought when I first played this!” 

“Welp,” You hum as you pause the game, turning to look at your fellow couch potato, “I now know what her contact name is gonna be once she gives me her phone number.” Midoriya blinked at you. “And what’s that?” You grinned. “Goat Mom. She’s officially the real life version of Toriel, and you can’t change my mind.”

* * *

_ “Thank you again for helping me!” -You _

_ “Also, thank you for letting me play Undertale. You are officially my favorite person ever.” -You _

_ “Oh, no problem!” -Strawberry _

_ “I’m glad I ran into you today! And I’m also glad I could help, even if it wasn’t that much.” -Strawberry _

_ “Oh, and you can come over anytime you want!” -Strawberry _

You smiled, snuggling deeper into your covers, clad in your favorite pair of pajamas. Aithusa snorted down on the floor, curled up on her bed. 

_ “Hey, wanna see a cute photo of Aithusa?” -You _

_ “Sure!” -Strawberry _

Aithusa shifted onto her back, front paws in the air while her back legs splayed across her bed. She snorted again, and you quietly slip out of your warm covers and snap a picture of the black and white husky. You slid back into your bed silently while Aithusa slept on. You send it to Midoriya.

_ “Aww, she’s adorable!” -Strawberry _

_ “I know, right?” -You _

_ “You should bring her along the next time you come by. My mom would absolutely adore her!” -Strawberry _

_ “Don’t worry, I won’t forget next time!” -You  
_

_ “But wait, doesn’t your apartment have a no animals rule?” -You _

_ “I don’t think the landlord would care if it’s a service dog and you’re only visiting. You know what, I’ll ask just in case.” -Strawberry _

You yawned and stretched.

_ “Okay, as much as I would love to continue talking with you, I gotta go to sleep. I’ll talk to you later?” -You _

_ “Oh, of course! Go right ahead! Don’t let me hold you up!” -Strawberry _

You giggled and prepared to turn your phone off, but another text stopped you.

_ “Good night, Aleah! I hope you’ll have sweet dreams!” -Strawberry _

Your chest felt warm, and your smile widened.  _ (..Why did you feel like you were floating? What’s going on?!) _

_ “Good night, and you too, Zuzu!” -You _

* * *

Izuku felt his face heat up as he stared at the phone in his hand. 

You just called him by a nickname. Not ‘Strawberry’, but a nickname from his actual name. It felt different from when Kaachan gave him the nickname ‘Deku’...Why? Why does he feel like Uraraka just reversed his gravity?  _ (Oh, he knew why, deep down. He just didn’t want to admit it yet.) _

* * *

You groaned softly and placed your head onto your arms, sighing harshly. Other sighs and groans echoed across the room as all of your classmates finally finished their written exams. You fist bumped the air tiredly, groaning as your hand throbbed.

Sato, who was sitting behind Uraraka, leaned over and poked your shoulder. You hummed. “Are you okay?” You shrugged. “Tired as hell,” You mumbled, “These past few days were kinda hard.”

“Yeah, tell me about it!” Kaminiari groaned and leaned back into his chair. “And here I was, thinking the midterms were tough.” You heard Todoroki stand up, and you looked up. He put on his backpack and looked down at you. “You coming?”

“To where?” 

“Lunch. I’m meeting with Midoriya and his other friends if you want to join?” You shook your head. “Maybe next time, when I’m not so tired. Today, I was kinda hoping to eat alone in a quiet place.” He tilted his head to the side. “Are you sure?” You nodded and gave him a tired, but happy smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine!” He nodded, reluctantly leaving you behind. Aithusa whined when you didn’t follow him, and you picked up your bag with one hand and stood. You stretched and headed up to the rooftop, completely unaware of the pretty green eyes watching you.

* * *

Your phone buzzed while you were admiring the view. You jolted and pulled it out. Pandora flapped closer, screen beeping as it tried to connect with Timcanpy.

_ “Hey, are you okay?” -Strawberry _

You frowned.

_ “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” _

_ “I don’t know..It’s just, something feels off, and I can’t exactly figure out what.” -Strawberry _

Your gut twinged. That was most probably a lie. You decided to shrug it off. He would tell you eventually, right? Right.

_ “..You know, you can call me Izuku, if you want.” -Strawberry _

You blinked.

_ “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I’d like you to know that you can use it! Seeing as you’re kinda..making me call you by your name...and all..” -Strawberry _

You smiled, and your chest felt warm again. 

_ “Okay then, Izuku!” -You _

You bit into your sandwich and hummed. Aithusa gobbled up the bits of ham you fed her along with her kibble beside you. 

_ “So, tomorrow’s the day. Are you nervous?” -You _

_ “A little. There’s a chance I could be fighting Kaachan again, and even though it’s a low chance, it could still happen..” -Strawberry  
_

You frowned.

_ “Bakugou was the one who pushed me the day we first met, right?” -You _

_ “Uh, yeah?” -Strawberry _

_ “..You’re not thinking of doing anything, right?” -Strawberry _

_ “Maayybeee...” -You _

_ “..You’re not planning on stopping me, right?” -You _

Midori- _ Izuku _ was silent for a minute. You were about to put your phone back when it dinged.

_ “Maayybeee...” -Strawberry _

You started giggling. Pandora beeped loudly, and you glanced up. It had finally connected to Timcanpy. 

_ “Opp, gotta go! Sorry, someone’s calling me.” -You _

_ “Oh, okay!” -Strawberry _

_ “Talk to you later!” -You _

You turned your phone off just as Allen picked up.  **_“Aleah?”_ **

“Well, hello, dear brother o’ mine.”

* * *

You jumped off of the bus and quickly stepped out of the way for Sato, leaning your back onto the metal side. Your classmates chatted together loudly in excitement, and you smiled. “Oh, Aleah!” You turned your head to see Midori- _Izuku_ walking up to you with a smile. “Hey, are you excited?” You say as he stopped.

“I’m more nervous than anything.” Izuku said with a slightly fearful look. You patted his shoulder. “Remember, it’s only a small chance. You might not even have to cross paths with him at all.” Izuku frowned. “I hope you’re right.”

“Come on, class! Let’s get moving!” Aizawa called, and your classmates started following him in clumps. You stood up as Izuku started walking, and glanced into your reflection. 

Your red leotard caught your eye first, and your fingers traced over the black lace butterfly in the middle of your stomach. Seeing as that Nomu had ripped a huge hole there, Todoroki had Endeavor’s support engineers surprise you with a new suit. They also added in a pair of black, kinda shiny looking shorts that barely covered your behind and your fishnet stockings were gone. (You hugged every single one of them who had a hand in it, and the next day, you baked them cookies.)

You turned and jogged to catch up with Izuku, adjusting your new gloves along the way. They were shock resistant, and instead of going to your elbows, they stopped just beneath your shoulder. They were this strange mix of cloth and metal, from what you could feel, and were a gray so dark it almost looked black.

Finally, your class arrived at a giant building. All of the teachers were there, and you raked your gaze across them in confusion. Wait. ‘I’m sorry, is that..?’

Endeavor glared at your class with his arms crossed. You blinked as your gazes met. “Wait, what’s Endeavor doing here?!” You cried. His glare hardened and you turned to Aizawa, who was standing next to the other teachers.

“Now then, let’s begin the last test. Remember, it’s possible to fail this final.” Aizawa’s gaze slowly raked across your classmates. “If you want to go to camp, don’t make any stupid mistakes.”

“Why are all of the teachers here?” Jirou asked quietly. “Why is  _ Endeavor _ here?” You hiss, glaring into the Pro Hero’s blue eyes. “I expect many of you have gathered information and believe you have some idea of what you’re going to be faced with today.” You gut twisted slightly. Uh oh, whatever they’re planning is not going to be good.

“We’re fighting those big ol’ metal robots!” Kaminari yelled, and Mina chimed in. “Actually, this year’s test will be completely different for various reasons!” Nezu popped out of Aizawa’s huge scarf with a smile. You jolted back, your heels clicking on the concrete underneath you.

“Principal Nezu?!”

“You’re changing things?” Momo cried, and Nezu used Aizawa’s scarf to help him climb back down to the ground. “The tests now have a new focus!” Yup, you were right. “There will be Hero work, of course, but also teamwork and combat between actual people!” You tilted your head. You think you know where this was going. “So what does that mean for you? You students will be working together in pairs, and your opponents will be one of our esteemed U.A. teachers! Isn’t that fabulous?!” Your gut twinged sharper, and you idly rubbed your stomach, scratching your cheek. You watched in faint amusement silently as your classmates panicked. Aizawa started listing off the pairings and their opponents. “And finally, Walker is fighting Endeavor alone.” The class turned to you as one while you heaved a long, suffering sigh. “What?” Todoroki blurted out, gaze flicking from you to Endeavor. “Wait, hold on!” Kaminari yelled, “Why is she fighting the Number Two Hero  _ alone _ ?! She’s definitely not going to win!”

You rolled your eyes and played with one of your pigtails. “Gee, thanks for the support, Kaminari.” You say in response. 

Aizawa sighed as the blond teen quickly apologized. “She’s fighting him because we believe he’s the only one who can handle her in a one on one fight besides All Might. We didn’t want another student to pair up with her because then that student gets an unfair advantage compared to everyone else. It’ll be similar to a retest if that student didn’t pass, and it would only bring Walker down from passing if her teammate is too tired from their earlier battle. We also believe he's one of the few who can exploit her weakness during battle. Therefore, she’s fighting alone.” You quirked your lips to the side and flicked your gaze back to the flaming Hero. He met your gaze with a scowl. You hummed, and Aizawa continued. “Also, she’s going first.”

You blinked.

“Wait WHAT?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry, a bit of a short, filler chapter. it just didn't feel right putting in anything else. i hope you all like this chapter, and that you will have an amazing day/night! you're all AWESOME! XP


	14. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I see Fire by Ed Sheeran

You played with your fingers as Pandora flapped above your head. You had already stretched, and was currently waiting for your test to begin. Your classmates were probably watching from the surveillance room with Recovery Girl.

**_“Team Walker, Practical Exam. Ready?”_ ** The door in front of you opened mechanically, and you readied yourself to start running.  **_“Go!”_ **

You took off, heels clicking against the concrete loudly. You swung your gaze side to side as you ran, quickly slipping into small alleyways. If he managed to find you in here, you could just jump up onto the rooftops.

“Pandora, stay close,” You whisper, and the golem landed on your shoulder. You slid to a stop and peeked out from the opening of the alley. No sign of the Hero anywhere. With a nod, you slipped into another nearby alley and grabbed at Pandora. The golem jerked as you tapped the screen, gaze flicking up every few seconds. You put the navigation setting you installed just a few days before on and Pandora flew out of your hands, heading for the exit. You had programmed it to stay with you at all times, but to lead you to your destination just like a Google assistant. You fought against a grin at the thought.

Just as you started slipping out of the alley, a burst of heat from your right caught your attention. You glanced to your right, and orange fire was all you could see. “There you are!” Endeavor called out and your eyes widened.

Your boots sparked as you tugged Pandora into your arms.

* * *

Shouto flinched as Endeavor appeared and hurled a giant ball of fire at you. He stood behind Recovery Girl with Midoriya and Uraraka to her left. Uraraka gasped, hands flying up to cover her mouth as the Hero’s flames spread to the rest of the street you had run onto. Shouto clenched his fists, grimacing.

“Oh, god! Aleah!” Uraraka cried. Endeavor stalked closer to the inferno. Recovery Girl tutted under her breath. Something flickered in the corner of the screen, and Shouto blinked. The flames slowly died down, and Shouto stopped breathing.

“What..?” Midoriya mumbled, “Where did she go..?”

You were gone.

* * *

You whistled lowly as you landed on the roof of a building, ducking out of Endeavor’s line of sight. “Oh shit,” You whispered, “That was a bit too close.” With a sigh of relief, you let go of Pandora and started running away. ‘There is no way I’m going to fight him,’ You thought, jumping over to the next roof. You heard something behind you and you ran faster, ‘Not now, at least. I’m definitely faster than him, so if I could just lose him, I could head over to the exit-’

You blinked as your gut twisted, and you jumped to the side. Flames appeared with a roar of crackles, and you flicked your gaze to Endeavor. He landed on the rooftop behind you. You narrowed your eyes and skidded to a halt.

Pandora flapped closer to your head. 

“Did you really think you could run from me?” You quirked your lips to the side, humming as you flicked your gaze away. “Hmmm, maybe just a little bit!” You say brightly, sliding into a fighting stance.

Endeavor groaned and his flames burned brighter. “I swear, there is something wrong with you..” You hum and bring your fingers up to Pandora’s screen, watching out of the corner of your eye as you quickly tap your way to your music list. Fire ignited from his hands once more as he glowered at you. Your smile turned into a mischievous grin. 

_ “Oh, misty eye of the mountain below. Keep careful watch of my brothers’ souls. And should the sky be filled with fire and smoke, keep watching over Durin’s sons.-” _

Quickly, you turned and jumped, narrowly avoiding another blast of fire. You twisted in midair, kicking your legs. “Waltz: Mist Wind!” Wind swirled over your boots, whipping your hair back and forth, and rocketed towards the Hero in the form of a giant tornado. You flipped in midair and bounced off of another wall.

_ “-If this is to end in fire, then we should all burn together. Watch the flames climb high into the night.-” _

You quickly jumped down into an alley before Endeavor could make his way to the roof of a nearby building, zooming past stray trash cans with ease.

_ “-Calling out, ‘Father!’, oh. Stand by and we will watch the flames burn auburn on the mountain side.” _

“Stop running away and face me, child!” You grinned, cartwheeling out of the way of another blast of fire as you ran out into another street. You twirled to a stop and turned to face the walking ball of hellfire as he walked out of the alley you were just in. 

_ “-If we should die tonight, then we should all die together. Raise a glass of wine for the last time. Calling out, ‘Father!’, oh. Prepare as we will watch the flames burn auburn on the mountain side. Desolation comes upon the sky.-” _

You slid your left foot back slightly, boots sparking brightly. You traced your fingers over the cuffs by your side and stared Endeavor down. ‘Okay, so it’s obvious I’m not going to lose him. I can’t just keep dodging and hope for the best, either, so I guess I really am going to fight him. And just when I got used to this suit, too.’

_ “-Now I see fire, inside the mountain. I see fire, burning the trees. I see fire, hollowing souls. I see fire, blood in the breeze. And I hope that you remember me.-” _

You crouched, and his eyes widened as you bolted into the air and aimed a kick to his head. His flames burned brighter as he raised an arm to block you, fire jumping from his hands. You quickly wrapped your legs around his arm and swung yourself around, grabbing his shoulders to pull yourself up onto them. He grunted as you placed your heels onto the fire sprouting from his shoulders. You pushed down and jumped, sending him to one knee as cracks spiderwebbed around him. You blinked as you grabbed the cuffs by your hip.

Suddenly, another stream of fire hit you square in the chest, sending you flying away into a nearby street lamp. You grunted as you slammed into it back first and you quickly grabbed it. You swiftly swung yourself up to the top of the pole, wrapping your legs around it and swinging yourself to the side. You grabbed onto the horizontal pipe and flipped yourself onto it, crouching as you returned your gaze onto the Hero. He was already up, and was running straight towards you with hands alight.

_ “-Oh, should my people fall in, surely I’ll do the same. Confined in mountain halls, we got too close to the flame. Calling out, ‘Father!’, oh. Hold fast and we will watch the flames burn auburn on the mountain side. Desolation comes upon the sky!-” _

With a squeak, you jumped away and landed on another street lamp. “Waltz: Ikehu Wind!” Your boots sparked, green electricity jumping along the length of your boots as you swung a leg out. A tornado of electricity spun towards him and you jumped away. 

‘Okay, so I guess I can’t exactly fight him, not with these weak attacks. I need something stronger,’ You thought as you landed on another roof, ‘But what can I use? I don’t think fire will work on him, and neither will air or electricity, seeing as he barreled through my last ones.’ You raised your gaze up to glance around you ‘I could use earth-wait.’ Your eyes landed on a tall structure in the distance. 

A grin formed on your face and you walked over to the edge of the roof, jumping down to wait for Endeavor.

‘This’ll be fun.’

_ “-Now I see fire, inside the mountain. I see fire, burning the trees. I see fire, hollowing souls. I see fire, blood in the breeze. And I hope that you’ll remember me.-” _

* * *

Shouto clenched his fists as he watched you land on a roof. You quickly stood up and glanced around. “I wonder if she’s got a plan?” Midoriya hummed, placing his hand onto his mouth. “I don’t think she started off with one at the beginning..”

You suddenly froze as something caught your eye, and no matter how hard Shouto tried, he couldn’t tell what you were looking at. All he knew was that you were staring in the general direction of a large building. You spun around and started to walk over to the edge of the roof you were standing in, and Shouto tilted his head (a habit he noticed you rubbed off on him) in confusion. You jumped down and stood in the middle of the street.

“Well, she definitely has one now.” He commented, and Uraraka nodded.

* * *

Endeavor growled as he jogged down the streets. You had disappeared somewhere around here, and he was going to find you, dammit!

_ “-And if the night is burning, then I will cover my eyes, oh, for if the dark returns, then my brothers will die.-” _

Endeavor blinked and turned the corner. There you were, standing tall. Your (e/c) eyes bore into his own, and for a second, Endeavor felt a chill go up his spine. You weren’t staring at him like a normal teenager, no, you looked more like a hunter that cornered it’s prey.

_ “-And as the sky is falling down, it crashed into this lonely town, and with the shadow upon the ground, I hear my people screaming out! Now I see fire! Inside the mountain. I see fire.-” _

You grinned, and you were gone when he blinked. He let out a soft curse and whipped his gaze around to find you. A flash of red caught his eye, and he turned to see you jump up onto a building and swiftly disappear from sight. Endeavor growled again and ran after you, using his flames to propel himself up onto the building. 

He looked up. You weren’t there. Suddenly, he heard a soft giggle, and pain exploded in his left temple. Endeavor stumbled and immediately let out a blast of fire. You shrieked, laughter echoing as you ran away. He glanced up at you as you disappeared into an alley. “Dammit,” He sped after you, “Get back here, you insolent brat!”

Just as he reached the edge of the roof, you shot up and kicked him in the jaw, flipping onto another roof. You stood there, giggling, as Endeavor stumbled back. He groaned and glared up at you. You smiled back and the flying device next to you stared silently at him.

Wait.

You disappeared again.

He realized with a jolt that your device had been silent since you first disappeared from his sight. He saw a flash of your suit once more in the distance. Endeavor felt his eyebrow twitch. Were you really toying with him?! 

His flames burned brighter in his growing rage, and he rocketed towards where he last saw you with a roar. Endeavor only saw a flash of a smile before you were kicking him from behind. He slammed into the wall behind him, and when he opened his eyes, you were nowhere in sight once again. He cursed. 

“Come out of hiding, dammit!” Endeavor yelled as his hands became alight with fire, and he swung his furious gaze back and forth. Your voice echoed around him as you giggled. “You gotta find me first!” And with another swift kick to his head from his blind spot, you took off. 

“I hope you can catch me before time runs out!” You called and disappeared once more. He stopped. ‘Before time runs out..?’ Something slammed into his face before he could think more on that, and Endeavor cringed as loud static screeched into his ears. It was gone before he had the chance to pry whatever it was out of his face.

Endeavor yelled in frustration and quickly chased after you, flames burning into the ground and leaving scorch marks. Suddenly, the ground shook with a boom, and the sound of rushing water reached his ears. A giant shadow covered him, causing Endeavor to glance up to his right, and his eyes widened. He stopped.

You were next to a water tower, water flowing around you in a terrifying dance as you spun around with one leg outstretched.

“What..the hell,” Endeavor murmured before the tidal wave came rushing towards him with a flick of your ankle.

* * *

You stopped near the water tower you spotted earlier with a grin. You crouched and jumped, and with a loud grunt, slammed your heels into the metal. The water tower shook as the metal gave way to your feet, and you twisted to make a giant hole. Instantly, the water rushed out and you landed on the street, quickly moving into a pirouette with your leg outstretched.

You gritted your teeth as the water twisted around you. The force behind the rushing water slowed you down, trying to escape your control to flow naturally and slam you into buildings. You spotted bright red in the corner of your eye and scowled. 

‘Come on, Boots! Just this once! Please!’ Your boots flashed green, and suddenly, the water was twisting with you with little resistance. You blinked as the force behind the rushing water pushed against your boot, spinning you faster. With a growing grin, you lashed your leg downwards in a kick. 

You watched in awe as the roar of the rushing water twisted into a tornado, the water flowing around you in a dangerous dance. You blinked, and the tornado slammed into Endeavor, sending him crashing into the building with a loud boom.

The water flowing out of the giant hole resumed it’s natural movement, and you sucked in a breath right before you were submerged in the water, the strong current swiftly sweeping you up. Your legs kicked, and you propelled yourself forward quickly as you swam over to where Endeavor was trapped. You grabbed the cuffs by your hip and swiftly snapped it over his wrist. He struggled as you grabbed one of his arms and pushed off the ground. You breached the surface of the water and gulped in a large breath of air. Endeavor coughed loudly as you landed on a roof, and you dropped him.

He glared at you and stood up, flames sputtering to ignite once more. You took hold of one of your pigtails and twisted your hair to try and squeeze the water out.

**_“End of Exam! Team Walker passes!”_ **

You nodded with a small smile, and Pandora bumped against your head. You watched as Endeavor stalked away. With a shrug, you followed him out of the exam area.

* * *

Uraraka squealed as she jumped up and down. “Yes! She passed! She passed!” Shouto felt his lips tug upwards as he watched you haul Endeavor out of the water with the cuffs attached to one of his wrists. Midoriya’s body sagged in his relief, and he breathed out a sigh. “Oh, thank god.”

Shouto nodded and turned to leave. “Ah, where are you going, Todoroki?” Midoriya called after him, and he glanced back at the other boy. “I’m going to congratulate Walker for her victory. After that, I’m going to get ready for my own test.” Shouto left the room.

“Oh, good luck, Todoroki!” He nodded and left the room.

* * *

You let out a sigh as you made your way to the Observation Room, stretching on the way. You winced as your sore back stung, and you frowned. Your Innocence couldn’t heal it no matter how hard it tried, and it sparked in your veins. With a groan, you bent over and rubbed your left anklet. “Calm down, ‘Boots. It’s okay. I’ll be fine in no time once I find Recovery Girl.”

“Walker? Is something wrong?” You jumped and swung your head up to see Todoroki walking towards you. You smiled and stood up as your Innocence continued to spark in frustration. “Hey, Todoroki! Everything’s fine, why do you ask?”

“You were thrown into a street lamp, and I found you bent over.” Your back twitched at the reminder. You nodded. “Oh, yeah. Well, my back does kinda hurt a little, and my In- _ blood  _ is trying to heal it. Unfortunately, it can’t heal that type of injury, so it’s kinda throwing a fit.” Todoroki looked down at your anklets, which had started spinning, “I see,” He met your gaze once more, “Well, congratulations on your win, Walker.” You smiled. “Awe, thank you! Good luck on your own exam!”

Todoroki’s face twitched suddenly, and your smile slowly melted into a concerned frown. “Is everything okay..?” You ask slowly as Todoroki shivered. He nodded after a minute, eyeing you with a strange look. You tilted your head, and watched as his head slowly slid into that same position. You held back a snort. “..Are you sure your quirk is your boots?”

‘It's definitely not my quirk.’

“Yup!” You smiled and nodded. “Can I ask why?” Todoroki’s eyes glanced away and he frowned. “It’s nothing. Forget I said anything.” He started walking away. “I’ll see you later, then.” You waved, even though he couldn’t see it. “See ya!” And then he turned the corner. Your smile melted off your face as you stared at the spot he disappeared from with a blank expression.

Your Innocence sparked, and you jumped with a curse. “God dammit, please calm down!”

* * *

You slowly opened the door and peeked your head in. Recovery Girl, Izuku, and Uraraka turned to look at you. Both of your classmates smiled widely, and Uraraka bounced up to you and wrapped her arms around your waist as you stepped in. You grunted and patted her back. “Hello to you too, Bubbles!” 

“You passed! Congrats!” She pulled away and bounced on her toes. “I’m so happy for you!” You smiled. “Thank you.” You murmured and turned to the elderly nurse. “Um, so I wouldn’t normally ask you of this, but could you heal my back?” You smile awkwardly at her. She beckoned you over and you reached her side. Izuku stepped back to give you room, and Recovery Girl turned you around to reach your back. With a few kisses from her, your back was all good, and the red anklets you always had stopped moving.

You sighed and stretched as you stepped away. “Thank you!” Recovery Girl nodded. “Oh, it’s no problem, dearie!”

“Um, congratulations on passing! That was amazing!” Izuku cut in as the camera turned on and Sato and Kirishima appeared. You smiled, and Izuku felt his cheeks warming up. “Thank you!” Then you glanced around with a confused smile. “Where’s Bakugou? Shouldn’t you make a plan?” Izuku glanced away as dread crawled up his stomach. “W-Well, he just..walked off as soon as we were dismissed..I don’t think he’s going to want to talk to me at all.”

‘He never wants to talk to me..’ Your eyebrows furrowed as your smile became stiff. “Oh. That’s gonna be a huge problem.” Uraraka leaned closer. “Oh?”

You sighed and glanced back up at the screen. “Bakugou’s smart, but he’s egotistical and probably extremely narcissistic. Izuku here is just as smart, if not more than him, but there’s so much bad blood between the two that whatever they do together alone, chaos follows. They barely get along during class! And they’re going up against the Number One Hero, who might I remind you, changed the weather with one punch. You see now?” Uraraka slowly nodded and Izuku played with his fingers.

“Yeah, that is going to be a problem. A big one.” Uraraka frowned. “Can’t believe I didn’t fully realize that. What were they thinking, putting you two together?” Izuku shrugged and turned  back to the screen as his classmates started their exam. His palms started sweating inside their gloves, and Izuku fought to control his breathing. 

It wouldn’t be good if he had a panic attack right now.

Suddenly, you barked out a loud laugh, and Izuku jumped. He whipped his gaze around to see you with one hand on your forehead. “Um, Aleah? Are you okay?” Uraraka poked your shoulder. You nodded, quietly giggling. “I’m okay, really! I just realized I made a pun today and I really should’ve noticed that sooner!” You bent over and wrapped your arms around your stomach.

Izuku shared a glance with Uraraka, and Recovery Girl sighed. “Are you talking about that song you played during your fight?” You nodded and, with quick taps on Pandora’s screen, resumed the song from earlier.

_ “-I see fire, inside the mountain.-” _

Uraraka slapped a hand over her mouth and Izuku snorted. “You only JUST NOW realized?!” You laughed harder as Uraraka yelled. 

“I’m sorry!”

“..Unbelievable.”

* * *

You hummed as you placed your box back into the compartment it was stored in, and you closed the door. You left the classroom and made your way to Recovery Girl’s office. Aithusa huffed out a breath, whining a little. You reached down and scratched behind her ear. “Just a few more minutes, okay?” She yawned.

You finally reached her door and knocked. An elderly voice called, and you opened the door. All Might took one look at you before deflating with a cloud of smoke. You smiled at both of them and stepped inside. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything?” You glance over at Izuku and an unconscious Bakugou briefly. Recovery Girl waved you forward and you immediately walked over to Izuku.

You grabbed a stray chair and pulled it over to his bed, where he lay face first on the bed. You sat down, and he groaned. “Hey, Aleah,” The puff of green hair shifted, and a pair of eyes peered up at you, “What’s up?” You shrugged, glancing over his back. “Nothing much. Are you okay?” 

“Mostly. Recovery Girl healed my back, but it still kinda hurts.” You nodded and returned your gaze back to his green one. You reached out a hand and laced your fingers together. He jumped and red pooled onto his cheeks. You glanced down at his hand. “Please get better soon.” Your vision blurred slightly, and you quickly wiped your tears away. Izuku squeezed your hand gently, and you blinked up at his face. “I will, only if you promise something.” You raised an eyebrow and tilted your head.

“Please don’t worry. I’ll be fine soon.” You blinked, and your small, stiff smile widened into something more filled with warmth. “I’ll try not to,” You whispered, “Much.” 

“I guess that’s the best I’m going to get, huh?” You shrugged and tightened your grip on his hand. “People like you tend to be torn apart by the world, I don’t want to lose another one.” He sighed and murmured softly. “That’s fair.”

Someone coughed awkwardly, and you raised your gaze to see All Might rubbing the back of his neck. “Um, is it okay if I could have a moment with Young Midoriya? Alone?” You glanced down at Izuku, squeezed his hand and stood up. “Sure, I have to walk Aithusa anyway! I’ll be back!” You grab Aithusa’s leash and walk out, closing the door firmly. You turn and quickly find your way out of the large building. When you finally stepped out the front door, Aithusa jolted forward, almost dragging you off your feet, and pulled you towards the nearest nice looking patch of grass. She immediately squatted and you turned away, glancing around the courtyard. Small groups of students passed by you, chatter both loud and quiet reaching your ears.

Suddenly, everything stopped, and heads started to turn towards the front doors. You hummed and took a quick glance towards whatever had caught their attention. 

Endeavor stalked out of the building with Todoroki a few paces behind him. With a smile, you tugged gently on Aithusa’s leash and skipped over to your friend when she started following. “Todo!” You called out and jumped into a hug with him. He grunted, but wrapped his arms around your waist. “Congrats on passing your test!” You sang. “Thank you..?” 

“Shouto! Hurry up!” Todoroki’s face scrunched up and he tightened his hold on you. You giggled, though as soon as you heard heavy footsteps heading your way, you tried to slide out of his grip. Just as Endeavor reached you, you managed to slip free. You smiled up at the Hero as he glowered down at you, your smile stiffening while your eyes widened. Aithusa growled in the back of her throat.

Endeavor crossed his arms and flicked his gaze over you. “Walker.” 

“Endeavor.” Why did you say something..?

He narrowed his eyes. “If you would excuse us,” He said just as he raised a hand to grab Todoroki, your scarred friend hummed. “Um, you might want to look down.” You followed his pointed finger and gasped, slapping a hand over your mouth. Aithusa smiled proudly up at you, still standing next to the giant number two she had taken on top of Endeavor’s foot. You could hear stifled laughter and gasps from the students surrounding you, and you slowly looked back  up at Endeavor. His face was red, and his flames were steadily climbing higher. You stepped back, gently tugging on your dog’s leash. “SorryIgottago!”

And you started running towards the door as he erupted, sparks of fire flying off him as he yelled. You tried to cover your loud giggles as you ran.

* * *

Izuku jolted as you slammed open the door. He watched you collapse into your chair, giggling like mad. Izuku shifted in his bed as he tried to sit up correctly. “Um, what happened?” He asked nervously as you laughed into your hands. Kaachan growled as he lifted his head, glaring right at you. “Shut the hell up, Pigtails!”

You raised your head, ignoring the angry teen. “So I ran into Endeavor and Todoroki, and Aithusa took a number two on his foot! In the middle of my conversation with him!” You cackled, throwing your head back. Izuku blinked.

Kaachan stared at you before turning to the smiling husky by your side. She panted and met his gaze. After a moment of staring, he shook his head and sat up, sliding off his bed. “What time is it?” Pandora slammed into the side of his head repeatedly, and Kachaan’s hands started smoking.

“You blow up my golem, and you’re dead!” You call out, your anklets flashing in the light. Kaachan glared at you, grabbed the flying ball, and threw it at you. He then stalked out of the room and slammed the door.

You sighed as Izuku jumped. “That went better than I thought..” Izuku slowly nodded. You clapped your hands together and turned back to him. “So, do you need any help getting home?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am so sorry this is late, school is making me busy, and i forgot to post this earlier. i hope you all liked this chapter, and that you all have a wonderful day/night! you're all AWESOME! XP


	15. Chapter 14

_ *Class 1A chat* _

_ “Heyyy, you guys wanna go to the mall tomorrow?” -Air Is Invisible _

_ “Tomorrow is our day off!” -Air Is Invisible _

_ “Oh, sure!” -Hard Mode _

_ “I do need some new things..I’ll come!” -Chargebolt _

_ “Aleeeaaah!” -PinkJellyBean _

_ “AAAAleeeaaahhhhh!” -PinkJellyBean _

_ “Yo!” -PinkJellyBean _

_ “I’ll come as well!” -Strawberry _

_ “ALEAH ANSWER YOUR PHONE!” -PinkJellyBean _

_ “OH MY GOD WHAT. I’M SLEEPING.” -You _

_ “Mall. Tomorrow. Come.” -PinkJellyBean _

_ “Also, it’s almost five. What the heck?” -PinkJellyBean _

_ “Do I have a choice?” -You _

_ “Absolutely not. I will find out where you live and drag you there myself if I have to.” -PinkJellyBean _

_ *Trio of Fools* _

_ “Midoriya’s coming!” -PinkJellyBean _

_ “..And what does that have to do with anything???” -You _

_ “Huh, I actually thought that would work..” -Chargebolt _

_ “EVERYTHING!” -PinkJellyBean _

_ *Class 1A chat* _

_ “Come on, Aleah! It’ll be so much fun! Plus it’ll get you used to the layout of the city since you recently moved here!” -PinkJellyBean _

_ “Ugh, fine.” -You _

_ “Ooh, I’m coming, too!” -Bubbles _

_ “YES! THEY’RE BOTH COMING!” -PinkJellyBean _

_ “Maybe.” -You _

_ “HUSH!” -PinkJellyBean _

_ “Can I sleep now?” -You _

_ “It is literally 4:30 p.m.!” -Hard Mode _

_ “Walker please do not sleep that early! You might ruin your sleep schedule!” -Emergency Exit Iida _

_ “Too late. I’m falling asleep right now. My guardian’s bad habits are rubbing off on me.” -You _

_ “NO! DON’T GO INTO THE LIGHT!” -Chargebolt _

_ “I’m going into the light. Goodbye, everybody.” -You _

_ “*Laughing emoji*” -Sticky Spider _

_ “Nap time~” -You _

_ “Aleah, I really don’t think it’s a good idea for you to sleep this early..” -Strawberry _

_ “WAIT WHAT.” -Chargebolt _

_ “SINCE WHEN.” -PinkJellyBean _

_ “I’ll be fine, Izu! Trust me!” -You _

_ “I’m pretty sure that’s your sleep clouded brain saying that..” -Strawberry _

_ “Maayyybe.” -You _

_ “WHEN DID YOU START CALLING EACH OTHER BY YOUR FIRST NAMES??!!” -Tiny Purple Pervert _

_ *The Strawberry Farm* _

_ “Do you mind if I..?” -You _

_ “I don’t mind.” -Strawberry _

_ *Class 1A chat* _

_ “About a few weeks ago? I don’t know.” -You _

_ “WHAAAT? I didn’t expect you to get so close so fast!” -PinkJellyBean _

_ *Trio of Fools* _

_ “Okay, spill. What really happened?” -PinkJellyBean _

_ “That is something I can not disclose, because it is very personal to the both of us.” -You _

_ “If Izuku is okay with it, then I might share it. As of right now, no.” -You _

_ *Class 1A chat* _

_ “Okay, congrats. You won. I can’t go back to sleep now.” -You _

_ “I’m being bombarded with texts left and right so much I can’t close my eyes.” -You _

_ “YES! WE DID IT!” -Chargebolt _

_ “Night night!” -You _

_ “DAMMIT WALKER!” - Chargebolt _

* * *

As soon as you stepped close to the mall, you spotted a bush of green in the middle of the crowd, and you smiled. You slipped between groups of people, eyes trained on Izuku’s mop of hair, and you crept up behind him silently. He stood at the outskirt of the huddle your classmates made, and you stood right behind him. 

You leaned in close to his ear.

“Heyyo!” Izuku shrieked and jumped, his limbs flailing, and quickly caught the attention of onlookers and your classmates. You snorted, swiftly dissolving into a giggling fit. Aithusa wagged her tail at your amusement, and some of your classmates joined in on the laughter.

“Sorry,” You managed to squeeze out between laughs as Izuku clutched at his heart, “Sorry! You okay?” You giggled, glancing up at him. He huffed out a breathless laugh and sighed. “You scared the crap out of me, Aleah!” You grinned. “That was the point!” 

“Well, HELLO, beautiful!” Mina sauntered up to you, and you smiled at her as she leaned in for a hug-

She swooped down to your husky, leaving you open armed and frozen in shock. “Awwe, aren’t you a good girl! Beautiful as always!” You slowly turned to look at her in disbelief as Kaminari burst out into laughter. Mina glanced up at you, and you lowered your arms slightly. “Seriously? You leave me for a DOG? I thought we were soulmates!” 

“Sorry hun, I found my true lover!” She planted a kiss on Aithusa’s head and you placed your hands over your heart. “Ooh, rejected tragically! But I would do the same so,” You shrugged, “Fair.”

“OOOH!” Kaminari started wheezing. Mina gaped at you and placed her hands over her heart. “Aleah! You wound me!” 

“I still love you, though!”

Mina rolled her eyes and stood up, giving you a quick hug. “Alright, now that we’re all here, let’s get going!” She pumped her fist forward, slinging an arm around your shoulders. 

“Hey, wait! Aren’t those U.A. students?” Someone called out, and your small group of teenagers glanced around. Passerby stopped and stared as they recognized your faces. “Oh, they are!” 

“So cool!” 

“I know, right?!”

Kaminari whistled. “People still recognize us?” You slipped out of Mina’s hold and shrugged. “Well, U.A. is very famous, and it’s the only Hero school who broadcasts it’s Sports Festival in Japan, as far as I know. It would make sense for people to recognize us even after all this time.”

“It’s still so surreal that people that we don’t even know still remember us.” Kirishima rubbed the back of his neck. “We should get used to it now rather than later,” Momo replied, eyes scanning over the different shops she could see, “That way we will be prepared for when we’re Pros. Oh! A tea shop!” Momo swiftly disappeared, with Iida running after her with his chopping hands. 

Soon, everyone dispersed, leaving you with Uraraka and Izuku. You blinked. “Okay then, guess we’re on our own,” You turned around to see Uraraka running somewhere, “Where’s she heading to?”

Izuku shrugged with a very confused expression. “She said she’ll be back?” You hummed, shrugging. You scanned the crowd, and your eyes widened. You tugged on Izuku’s arm excitedly. “What is it?” You turned to him with a wide smile. “They have cotton candy here! Want some?” You bounced up and down on the balls of your feet. “Uh, sure-”

“Great! I’ll go get it!” And then you ran towards the shop, quickly losing Izuku along the way. You slipped through the door and stood in line for the sweet treat. Aithusa huffed as you bounced in place, and you quietly ignored the looks you recieved. You got to the front of the line a few minutes later, and you bought three cones and left. You stopped just outside of the store and glanced around. You couldn’t see Izuku’s hair. You frowned. ‘Where’d he go?’

You walked closer to where you last saw him, gaze swiveling from left to right. Finally, you spotted the top of his head, and you felt relief flood through you. You walked over to him briskly, heels clacking against the stone loudly. His squinted eyes met yours, and you smiled, and the tears dripping down his face registered in your mind when your eyes traveled to the arm slung around his shoulders. You faltered, your smile falling slightly and you moved your gaze to the owner of the arm.

You stopped a few yards away from Izuku and Shigaraki, and he noticed you. You quickly glanced back towards Izuku’s face, and you finally noticed the hand wrapped around his neck. Your anklets shifted wildly, and you glared at Shigaraki.

* * *

“Ah, that’s like a weight off my chest. I see it now, all the dots connected!” Izuku shuddered as he glanced up at Shigaraki’s red eyes. “Why he makes me so angry, why you irritate me so much. Everything makes sense!” He grinned manically down at the ground, and suddenly, he was hearing loud clacking coming closer. He paled. “It’s him, the problem is All Might! Yeah, yeah! That’s it! That’s the most rational explanation!” The villain let out a chuckle. 

“I didn’t see it even though it was right in front of me the whole time! What was I worrying about so much?! It’s simple! He’s why these morons are able to smile thoughtlessly!” Shigaraki’s grip on his neck tightened, and Izuku could barely breathe. The clacking stopped, before resuming a minute later. “They feel so safe because of that garbage Pro is smiling thoughtlessly, too, as if there’s no one in the whole world he can’t save! Oh, I’m glad we had this chat, I feel better! I can’t thank you enough, Midoriya!” Izuku’s hands slowly reached up to Shigaraki’s hand the longer he went without air. The clacking was louder now. “I don’t need to change my ways after all! Whoops, don’t struggle now! Unless you want to die! You want all these people here to crumble as well?”

Izuku opened his eyes slightly, though he couldn’t see much through the tears blurring his vision. A flash of (h/c) hair appeared, and suddenly, you slipped through the cracks in the crowd and stopped. He could see your anklets spinning wildly around your ankles, crackling like glass breaking as it threatened to shift fully into your boots. Aithusa started growling.

“Let. Him. Go.” You growled, grip on the paper cones in your hands tightening. Izuku spotted a flash of brown somewhere behind you, and Uraraka appeared. “Deku?” She stared at him before her eyes flickered down to the hand around his neck. Shigaraki’s grip on him loosened slightly. “Is that..a friend?” Uraraka’s gaze flicked to your glare briefly as Shigaraki slowly turned  to you both. “No..that can’t be right,” Her eyes widened in fear as she realized just who was holding his neck, “Hey, let go of him.” Her voice sounded weak.

You snarled, moving to stomp forward and shoving the cotton candy into Uraraka’s hands. Shigaraki slowly moved his other hand out of his pocket. Izuku’s eyes widened in his panic.

“This is nothing! Everything is fine! Stay back!” He blinked, the tears falling, and you had frozen in confusion with Uraraka’s fingertips brushing against the paper cones.”No closer-!” Shigaraki’s hand disappeared, and Izuku gasped in a gulp of air, lurching forward to cough into his hands.

“Oh? You came with friends! I didn’t know! Sorry about that!” Shigaraki’s voice lowered in warning. “If you try following me, I’ll get angry.” He stood up and walked away. As soon as he was out of arm distance from the three of you, Uraraka rushed forward to his side. You continued to watch Shigaraki walk away, shifting to make sure he was always going to be met with your front if he decided to come back. “Deku!”

Izuku glanced up, glaring a hole into the villain’s back. “Hold on, Shigaraki!” Uraraka turned to the older teen with fear. He stopped and glanced over his shoulder. “I have a question too,” You glanced at him, hands crushing the cones, “What is All for One after?”

“Who knows, really? But here’s a little word of advice, friend; be careful. The next time we met, I’ll likely have to kill you.” Your anklets finally shifted into your boots, and you snarled once more. Shigaraki ignored you and continued walking. He quickly disappeared.

* * *

You ate your cotton candy slowly, silently watching a show you weren’t even paying attention to. Aizawa and Hizashi were in the kitchen, likely watching you to make sure you didn’t do anything stupid.

You sighed and glanced up at the ceiling. Izuku had been taken to the station, and you have yet to hear from him even though it’s been hours since. With a groan, you stood up and went up the stairs to your own room. Aithusa raised her head once you opened your door, and you shut the slab of wood closed gently with a soft click.

You threw the finished cone into your trash can and stood at your desk. You opened one drawer and pulled out a key ring. Keys clinked together, the pictures of all your family members staring up at you. You smiled, closed the drawer, and sat down on your bed. You held the fake keys in your hand fondly, stroking the metal with your right thumb. You hummed, blinking back tears that were suddenly springing up in your eyes. With a sniffle, you hugged the mass of keys to your chest, tears slipping from your eyes. You didn’t bother to wipe them away.

A minute later, a warm tongue lapped at your face, licking away your tears. You opened your eyes and softly smiled at Aithusa, pulling her forward to hug her. She continued to lick you, and you let out a soft laugh.

You glanced back down at your keys...You almost lost another today, and you didn’t have any pictures of him. You blinked. In fact, you don’t have any pictures of your new friends.

You whipped out your phone and turned it on.

_ *Class 1A chat* _

_ “So, sudden weird question, but do you guys think you can send me a picture of your faces? Please?” -You _

_ “Why do you need them?” -PinkJellyBean _

_ “Personal reasons that I’d rather not talk about right now.” -You _

_ “*Attachment*” -Bubbles _

You blinked and opened up the picture Uraraka sent you. She was smiling brightly, with one of her hands in a peace sign. You smiled, chuckling.

_ “Thank you! I’ll be sure to bring extra sweets to you later!” -You _

Your phone was suddenly bombarded with pictures of your friends, and you laughed.

_ “Uh, why are you guys sharing pictures of yourselves?” -Strawberry _

_ “Izuku!” -You _

_ “Walker wants us to send her pictures for some reason.” -Hard Mode _

_ “But she promised sweets if we did!!” -PinkJellyBean _

_ “Oh.” -Strawberry  _

_ “Also, are you okay? We heard you were cornered by Shigaraki!” -Hard Mode _

_ “Oh, I’m fine! I just got picked up by my mom from the station.” -Strawberry _

_ “Izuku, send me a pic!” -You _

_ “Can I ask why?” -Strawberry _

_ “Personal reasons! I might tell you later!” -You _

_ “Okay..I can’t exactly take a picture right now, so do you mind if I send a semi recent one?” -Strawberry _

_ “It’ll do!” -You _

_ “Give me a second!” -Strawberry _

_ “*Attachment*” -Strawberry _

_ “Here you go!” -Strawberry _

_ “Ty!” -You _

You smiled and stood up, quickly rushing out of your room. You ran down the stairs and slid into the kitchen. Aizawa and Hizashi jumped and turned to you, and you quickly snapped a picture of Aizawa before he could move. Hizashi quickly posed and you took one of him as well. You ran back out of the room and up the stairs.

“Aleah delete that!” Aizawa yelled. “Can’t, it’s for a good cause!” You yell back and slam your door. You jumped onto your bed and laughed.

Aithusa whined in confusion. You scratched her behind her ear and smiled as she leaned into it. ‘Looks like I know what I’m doing before the camp.’

Someone knocked on your door, and you turned your head to it. “Yeah?” You called, and Hizashi poked his head in and smiled at you, “Hey!” You raised an eyebrow. “Hey..? What’s up?” Hizashi slipped through the door and linked his fingers together. “So, you know how you’ve got a camp trip coming up?” You sat up and nodded. “Yeah?”

“We may or may not need you to check the surrounding area and inside for any Akuma.” You blinked. “That all?” He nodded, his long hair flopping around in the bun he wore. You shrugged. “Okay, when do we leave?” You slipped off of your bed and headed for your closet, pushing the folding doors to the side to sift through it. “We were thinking about tomorrow, because of it being an off day and all. It’ll take a while to get there.” You nodded as your fingertips finally found the bag you had when you first came to Japan. You pulled it out and moved to your dresser, packing extra clothes and masks inside the bag. “Hey, what are those keys for?” 

You turned around to see Hizashi moving towards your bed, hand outstretched to pick up the bundle of keys you left on the soft surface. You leaned against the dresser behind you and watched as he looked through the different faces. He glanced up at you. “What is this?”

You sighed softly. “That’s my family. I take a picture of a new family member and make a key with it. I always carry it with me on missions.” You pushed off the dresser and strode towards him, holding out your hands. The Pro handed it back to you, and you sifted through the keys to find a specific one. When you found the gold key, your smile widened and you showed it to Hizashi. “This is my brother.”

Hizashi’s breath hitched, and his thumb reached up and rubbed against the large scar on the left side of Allen’s face. “What happened?” 

“It has to do with an Akuma,” You rubbed your face, “An Akuma cursed him once, and his left eye is now able to detect the souls trapped in Akuma.” Hizashi let out a soft noise. You placed the key ring onto the desk nearby. “I was planning to make a key of you guys, but I just realized I don’t have anything to make it with. Mind if we buy some nickel silver soon?” You turned and were immediately greeted with Hizashi in tears.

“Uh, you okay?” He nodded rapidly, rushing forward to wrap you in a tight hug. “I’m just so happy!” He screeched, accidentally using his quirk.

“Mic!” Aizawa’s voice floated upstairs, “Shut up! I’m trying to sleep!” Hizashi let go of you and ran out of the room. “Sho! Aleah sees us as family!” You blinked, chuckling a little and shaking your head. You turned back to look at your keys. Immediately, your eyes settled on a black key, gaze meeting the dark eyes of an old man.

Long, white hair framed his face, and a thick mustache hid his mouth from view, but you could still tell he was smiling. You picked the key up, staring into the dead man’s eyes. You sat back on the bed and hugged the key to your chest.

“I hope I make you proud, Master.”

* * *

You stretched as you climbed out of the car, groaning loudly. “Long time no see, Eraserhead!” A woman called out, and you opened your eyes to see a woman walking towards you. You relaxed as she greeted your guardians. “Ah, Present Mic! It’s nice to see you again!” Aizawa turned to you, beckoning you over. You tilted your head to the side and obeyed, stopping right besides the lady.

She turned to you and smiled. “And this must be your new kitten! Oh, she’s so cute!” She looked you over before grabbing you into a hug. “Pixie-bob! Let her go!” Another woman called out, briskly walking over to help pry the blonde woman off of you. Pixie-bob pouted, but let go before the other woman could reach her.

“Come on in, we’ve been waiting for you guys.” Her brown hair swished as she turned around, leading your small group inside. “Are you hungry? We can make something for you guys before you hunt?” You hummed, shrugging. “Sure, I am a bit hungry.” The two women before you nodded and slipped inside the building, closely followed by you and your guardians. You were quickly seated at a table, and the other two Pro Heros in their team appeared with a young boy in tow. You met his gaze, and his dark eyes narrowed before he glanced away.

The next half hour was a blur, and before you knew it, you were zipping up your Exorcist coat and tugging your separated sleeves on. You removed your hair from the loose ponytail you had it in and pulled it into pigtails. You left the bathroom and headed for the foyer where your shoes were, and started stretching. You were halfway through a split when a voice came from behind you.

“So, you really are one of them,” The large man (Tiger?) shook his head sadly and crossed his arms. He sighed, “It’s such a sorrowful thing that a person as young as you have already seen war when you barely started high school.” You blinked and shifted your legs out of the split. You lowered your gaze to his feet, your face absent of the usual smile you kept on everyday. It felt strange, foreign, to not have a smile. You had gotten so used to the stretch of your lips tugging upwards that you had forgotten what it was like to have a blank face. You repressed a shiver. It was hard to imagine that that was your normal face when you were younger. Now that you think about it, that must’ve looked strange to a lot of people. Even Izuku noticed it at such a young age.

The Hero crouched down to your level and slipped into a sitting position. “Are you doing okay?” You shrugged, then continued stretching. “Those two idiots aren’t being idiots, are they?” You shook your head before you stood up. You stepped away from him, reaching for your heels as someone called out for the Pro Hero. When you turned back around, the young boy had taken his place. He glared up at you, and you blinked. 

You chewed your lip. “Um, hello?” The boy narrowed his eyes, his dark irises boring into you under the brim of his hat.

- _ Kanda glared down at you, swearing under his breath, but you grabbed his hand anyway. You knew by now that his scowl was just his normal face. He clicked his tongue, but allowed you to pull him to a stand filled to the brim with stuffed toys. You quickly paid for a round, and started tossing the balls at the bottles. _

_ “You do realize that these things are rigged, right? You’re not going to get your money back if you fail.” His low voice snapped at you, and you shrugged with a giggle. You managed to knock down all three towers of bottles, and you turned to your tall companion. He narrowed his dark eyes at you. _

_ “I don’t care if I won’t get my money back, I only care if it’s fun.” You say as the person behind the counter handed you a giant teddy bear. You thanked her, and squeezed the big toy to your chest. “What are you even going to do with that? You have enough stuffed animals at Headquarters.” You shrugged, before holding it out to Kanda. “It’s not for me, silly! It’s for you! You need some good memories in your head, so you can look back on them when times are tough!” You pushed it into his hands, and he grunted as you grabbed him again. _

_ You wanted to run to the next stand you deemed interesting, but your heavy boots prevented you from moving quickly. Instead, you walked side by side with Kanda, the resident (demon) samurai, to the next money eating stand with your arms linked together. “Now let's go make some good memories!” _ -

The boy scoffed at you and turned away. He slipped by Aizawa and Hizashi, who were walking into the room. You watched him go as the two men approached you. “Hey, you about ready to go?” Hizashi grinned at you, and you shrugged, tearing your gaze from the boy. “Sure. You guys should stay here. There won’t be any civilians on the mountain, anyway.” Hizashi quickly wrapped his arms around you, bringing you in for a tight hug. You grunted, banging your hands on his back as he constricted your lungs. Finally, he let go, and they watched you leave.

You activated your boots and ran, feeling the familiar power flow through your legs. You jumped, the air whipping around you. For a split second, you closed your eyes and let the rushing wind flow through your hair. (You felt like you were home)

You opened your eyes and swung your legs out, angling them towards the ground. With a burst of power, the butterflies appeared and a fire like substance burst out of the balls of your feet. You zipped over the ground, swerving around trees and rocks, feet never touching the ground. Your eyes flicked over the land as you zoomed past it, Pandora right behind you to scan it as you went. 

- _ You felt your boots shift into another form, and you bent your knees slightly. Your speed shot up as the new form added a burst of speed, giving off a sonic boom of green light behind you. Your long hair whipped behind you as you chased the Akuma holding Allen by his arm. You felt panic well up inside you while you swerved around tall trees. The mountains of China seemed to close in on you, trapping you. You shook your head and focused on reaching the Akuma. _ -

Just as you reached the top of the mountain, your gut twisted sharply, and you shot up with a flare of green light. You flipped in midair and watched as purple bullets rained down on the tree you were behind just a second ago. It stopped, and you landed in a crouch. A demented giggle reached your ears, and you immediately stood, swinging a foot straight into the Akuma’s face in a fluid movement. It grunted, and you kicked off your other leg. 

You twisted around and swung your other foot into the Akuma’s chin, forcing it’s head up. You flipped back, landing on your feet. You swiftly slid under the Akuma and donkey kicked it from behind.

It crashed into a swath of trees, and your gut twisted again. Suddenly, pain erupted in your left cheek, and you landed on the ground harshly. You shot out a leg and kicked your assailant back, rolling back onto your feet. Your gaze shot around as you jumped back, putting space between you and the two Akuma.

One Level 4 still stuck in the trees, and a Level 3-wait, make that four Level 3’s floating in front of you. Crap. You sighed heavily and reached for Pandora. “Welp, this should be fun. Let’s get this party started, shall we?”

* * *

You groaned as you felt your blood re-enter your injuries, crystalizing to prevent blood loss. Stretching, you turned to Pandora. The burning corpses of the Akuma burst into clouds of gas, and you stepped away from the slow moving poison. “Any notifications while I was busy?”

Pandora shook its body violently. “Okay, what about other Akuma? Any more on the mountain?” Another shake. You sighed, relaxing for a moment. “Good,” You reach up a hand and let Pandora to land on your palm. You tiredly smiled at it, “Let’s get back to the camp, yeah?”

* * *

Lenalee held the stack of papers carefully on her lap with one hand, the other pressing a button on the arm of her wheelchair. Reever walked beside her, holding his own stack of papers. They passed through the Ark gate, and Lenalee shuddered as her gaze landed on the CROW stationed on the other side.  She felt fear crawl up her throat, and she noted with a little shame the hatred and anger bubbling in the pit of her stomach. Lenalee frowned.

The CROW turned and watched as they appeared through the gate. Lenalee shoved those negative emotions down and, placing a calm mask on her face, met their gazes with her chin held high. Their uninterested stares turned away while Lenalee rolled forward. She glanced at them from the corners of her eyes.

One CROW’s hands flexed, and she could imagine that with one slip up, with one flick of their wrists, the CROWS would have them bound and hauled off to the cells below within seconds. Lenalee glanced back down to her stack of mostly blank papers.  Lenalee squeezed her eyes shut, sweat beginning to bead at her temple. They can’t get caught here, they’ll be in even more trouble now that they talked to Bak. The CROWs’ presence burned in the back of her mind, and for a split second, Lenalee sa _ w them  _ **_above her_ ** -

- _ She whimpered as the CROWS surrounded her. The talismans kept coming from their sleeves, covering her limbs tightly. She opened her eyes, and immediately, a man appeared in her line of sight. Panting, she tried to crawl away, but the talismans activated. Her limbs were suddenly heavy, and she couldn’t move anymore. She blinked and- _

-Lenalee continued rolling away from the CROWs. She glanced back, and her frown deepened. How is it they can just continue being under that man’s control, when their comrades were just used in a human experiment by him?!

Lenalee shook her head, turning back to the path in front of her.

A flash of an image of you tied to your bed and blindfolded crossed through her mind, and Lenalee’s frown turned into a dark scowl as she glared down at her broken legs. She was tired of the haunted looks in the Finders’ eyes, of the years old ache in young eyes of Exorcists. Of the grieving friends who watched their comrades crumble away into nothing until all that was left were their clothes.

When Lenalee returned to her work room, she slammed a fist into the table, scattering stray objects. Something has to be done, and Lenalee is getting tired of being useless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welp, this was kinda hard to write. i hope you all liked this chapter! i have unfortunately run out of chapters yet again, so i'm going into a hiatus for a bit. i promise i'll hurry it up so you guys can read more! (i'm extremely excited 'cause we're getting closer to one of my favorite arks! oohh, this is gonna be fun to write!) i hope you all have a wonderful day/night, and you're all AWESOME! XP


	16. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't Hold Us by Macklemore ft. Ryan Lewis

“So, that’s your plan?” A low, drawling voice said, and the owner slowly pulled out a cigarette from the box in their jacket pocket. He raised a finger, and a blue flame burst forth from his fingertip. He ignited the cigarette as a girl giggled maniacally and another person replied.

“Yes, though we will need more players.” He grumbled to himself, fingers scratching at his neck. Yet another man piped up. “I think I know exactly who you need. Give me a day or two to get them onboard.”

Someone exhaled, blowing out smoke. Another’s fingers dug into their neck even further, creating an awful scratching sound. A girl giggled again, licking a knife. A man left the bar, letting the door slam shut behind him. Bottles and glass cups clinked together as someone cleaned from behind the counter.

This next round should be fun.

* * *

Something slammed into a wall, and a soft groan reached the ears of the old man. He flinched, sweat beading at his temple. He met the angry gold eyes head on.

“What did that traitor do to my darling Road?!” The Noah screeched, hands tearing at his long hair. The old man stayed silent. Another Noah stuck out his long tongue, leaning over his apprentice. The eyes in his tongue moved to look at the teen tied to the chair.

“Pan...da…”

* * *

You dangled your keys from your hand, gazing at the new keys you finally added. Now, the keys were a perfect blend of black and gold. Pretty green and silver eyes stared back at you. You smiled before placing them in your bag once more. You finished packing a few minutes later, and closed the suitcase up. With a yawn, you lugged your suitcase and bag downstairs.

Hizashi wasn’t even up at this time, and you could barely see Aizawa’s form on the couch. You set down your bags and leaned over the couch. With a hum, you poked Aizawa’s head. He didn’t move. You poked again, harder. He still didn’t move. 

With a sigh, you went back upstairs to wake your other guardian. You knocked on his bedroom door before poking your head in. Hizashi was still sleeping. You flipped on the light, but he rolled over to hide from the bright light. You slipped inside and softly closed the door. With silent footsteps, you ran towards his bed and jumped. You landed harshly on the Pro Hero, and he jerked, screeching. His voice bounced off the small space briefly before Hizashi cut off his quirk. You rolled off of him before he could manage to swing a fist at you, and he stared at you in betrayal. You grinned, shrugging and pointing towards the clock.

Hizashi groaned and glanced over at the clock. “What are you even doing up?” He sat up, staring at you, “Normally we have to wake you, not the other way around!” You shrugged again, moving for the door. “I needed to finish packing.” You opened the door once more, but you turned back to the blond as a thought hit you. “Hey, mind waking Aizawa? I’m pretty sure he’ll just ignore me if I try.” He waved you off, and you went back to your room to change from your pajamas to your school clothes.

As you were changing, you heard Hizashi scream once more. Another shout interrupted him, and you heard several crashes and more screaming. You sighed fondly and shook your head.

(You blamed the slight twist in your stomach as nerves from the upcoming class camping trip getting to you.)

* * *

“Izuku!” Izuku barely had enough time to glance behind him before you crashed into him, wrapping your arms and legs around his body. He squeaked, losing his footing and falling to the ground with a grunt. You rolled off of him as soon as he landed, and he groaned. “Why..?”

“Sorry!” You cried, giggling lightly, “I got excited..” You hopped up to your feet and held out a hand to him. He grabbed it, and you pulled him to his feet. Izuku quickly swooped down to pick up his belongings, and to hide his red face as much as he could. He quickly finished and stood up, turning to look at you. Finally, he noticed Todoroki holding Aithusa’s leash behind you, swiftly catching up. He was also dragging a bunch of suitcases along with him. You glanced over your shoulder and jolted, jogging over to Todoroki. “Oh, I am so sorry about leaving you with that!” You slipped your suitcase and Aithusa’s leash into one hand while the other slung a bag onto your shoulder. 

Todoroki shrugged and allowed you to hug him. You then dragged him over to Izuku and wrapped an arm around him as well. Izuku’s gaze flicked over to Todoroki, who was watching in..amusement? He thinks that’s amusement.

Todoroki met his gaze and shrugged with a soft smile. You pulled away and started walking towards the classroom. “Are you guys excited? I’m definitely excited! I’ve never been to a summer camp before! Wonder what we’re going to have to do when we get there?” Izuku blinked at the rapid fire talking you were doing, and he glanced at Todoroki. He leaned closer to him. “She’s been like this since before I met up with her.” Izuku nodded.

You all finally reached the classroom and entered, going to your seats. Most of the class was already there, chatting loudly. Izuku slipped into his seat behind Kaachan as quietly as he could, and before long, Aizawa appeared. He quickly led the class to the parking lot where a large bus waited. Aizawa tiredly went over some rules, fixing a glare on some students. (Izuku noticed that you were in that group. You grinned and shrugged at the Hero’s look.)

Izuku climbed in, going to the very back and sitting down next to a window. You sat down next to him as Uraraka and Iida sat in the row in front of you. Todoroki took a seat in the same row as Izuku, and surprisingly Asui sat next to him. Aithusa laid down in the aisle between them, whining as she yawned.

The bus started once everyone was safely sitting down, and the first ten minutes of the ride was filled with chatter and laughter.

A weight appeared on his shoulder, and Izuku jumped, snapping his head down to you. You fell asleep, head landing on his shoulder, and Izuku felt his cheeks heat up. “Awe, she’s so cute!” Uraraka exclaimed and quickly whipped out her phone. Izuku whined as she took pictures of the two of you, hiding his face in the window. He was careful to not move around too much, shifting subtly so as to not wake you.

Izuku tried to ignore the fact that you were now asleep on him, and tried to focus on the scenery outside. (He stayed stiff the entire ride.)   


* * *

You groaned as someone shook you awake. You blindly swatted the hand away, wanting to go back to sleep. They continued shaking you, and you could now hear a voice talking to you. With another groan, you peeled your eyes open and blinked blearily up at whoever woke you. Brown hair bobbed in front of your face, and you leaned back into a hard surface.

“Finally! She’s awake!” The brown head turned to call to another person, and you snuggled into the hard, but warm surface. It stiffened even more, and you turned to see a mop of green. You rubbed your eyes and glanced around.

You were still on the bus, and some of your classmates were standing around you. You could see Todoroki staring at you in what you thought was amusement, Uraraka was crouched next to you. You turned back to the blob of green, and Izuku’s flustered face greeted you. “Oh, we’re here?” You asked, voice soft, and turned back to Uraraka. She nodded and stood up, following your other classmates out. With a yawn, you climbed out of the little corner you put yourself in with Izuku.

The teen quietly followed you off the bus, and you both stretched once you had enough room to. Izuku groaned loudly, and you rubbed your eyes. You glanced around in confusion, squinting at the bright sunlight. “I thought we were at the camp..? Is this a pit stop or something?” Izuku shrugged as the class grouped together in front of Aizawa. A black car sat innocently in the clearing the bus had pulled up to. Your gut twinged.

Uh oh. You slowly pulled off your shoes and socks, placing them neatly nearby. You started stretching your legs as much as you could without gaining attention. Your classmates voiced their confusion as Mineta ran between legs panickingly.

“..This isn’t much of a rest area?”

“No, and where’s Class B?” You watched as Mineta skidded to a halt in front of Aizawa. “You don’t really think we stopped here just so you could stretch your legs, do you?” Everyone turned to look at him just as the car’s doors popped open. “Heya, Eraser!”

Aizawa sighed. “Long time no see..” Pixie-bob and Mandalay jumped out of the car with a bored looking Kota behind them. You met his gaze briefly before he looked away from you. “You can call us the Wild, Wild Pussycats!” You snapped your attention back to the duo as they struck a pose. “These are the Pro Heros you’ll be working with during the summer training camp.” You dipped down into a toe touch stretch, ignoring Izuku’s excited ramblings over the two Heros in front of you.

You jumped as Pixie-bob slammed a gloved hand in Izuku’s face, the claws unsheathed. “Your math must be a little off! I’m eighteen at heart!” She growled, and Mandalay pulled her off of him. You subtly slipped Aithusa’s leash into Aizawa’s hands as Mandalay gestured to the  mountainside. “We own this whole stretch of land out here, everything you can see! The summer camp you’ll be staying at is there, at the base of the mountain.”

“THAT’S FAR!” You pulled your hair out of the messy bun you had it in and put in your regular pigtails. Todoroki noticed this, and his eyebrows furrowed. His gaze travelled to your socks and shoes you abandoned. 

“Uh, then why did we stop all the way up here instead..?” Uraraka asked hesitantly, and Tsuyu answered with her finger to her mouth. “I think we both know the answer to that..” Sato shook his head, “That can’t be right,” He glanced to his classmates, “Right?” You giggled and crouched, anklets spinning wildly. You grinned as Sero glanced back at you with a nervous smile. His eyes widened and he turned to stare worriedly at the Pro Heros in front of them. “Um, back on the bus, quick! Let’s go!” Mina and Kaminari nodded, and they stepped back a little. You tensed the muscles in your legs, ready to start running. 

“The current time is nine-thirty in the morning,” A grin appeared on Mandalay’s face, and her tail wagged behind her. You briefly wondered how that worked since it wasn’t a part of her, “If you’re fast about it, you might make it there by noon.” You watched as your classmates ran back towards the bus, and you activated your Innocence as your gut tugged once more. “And if you don't get there by twelve-thirty, you won’t get any lunch!”

“You should’ve guessed students,” Aizawa called over the loud sounds of the class running towards the bus. Pixie-bob landed in front of the crowd with a sadistic grin, “The training camp has already begun.” She slammed her hands into the ground below and suddenly, the earth moved, wiping your classmates off their feet. With a grunt, you gathered power into your boots and started running, jumping over the cliff. Your classmates, still stuck in the landslide, fell over the cliff side after you, screaming loudly. You laughed as you felt the air rush past your face, tugging at your hair. Flames sprouted from the balls of your feet, letting you land gracefully. You rolled out of the way of your classmates, who landed in a heap. They groaned and sat up, some managing to get to their feet.

“Good news!” Mandalay called down to you all, “Since this is private land, you can use your quirks as much as you want to! You got three full hours, you should be able to make it to the facility in that time!” Her smile widened. “That is, if you can get through the Beast’s Forest.” You turned to look at the dark woods behind you, and you hummed. Your boots flashed in your rising excitement. “The Beast’s Forest?!”

“That sounds like a name right out of a fantasy game!” Kaminari said, taking a step back from the trees. “Why do we keep falling for Aizawa’s little tricks..?” Jirou asked. Just as everyone managed to make it to their feet, Mineta zoomed past, heading for the treeline. He made it a yard into the treeline before a giant foot appeared in front of him.

He skidded to a halt, staring up at the giant monster of rock and wood. It glared down at him, growling. Your eyes widened, and you jumped, shooting towards the monster before it could move. With a grunt, you kicked it, slamming both feet into its face. It stumbled back, and you flipped, landing in a crouch. It raised it’s clawed foot, and you jumped back, allowing Izuku to grab Mineta and push him out of the way. Koda yelled out a string of words, but the beast ignored his commands. The foot slammed into the ground, and a chunk of dirt fell off. Izuku let go of Mineta just as another monster appeared. As Izuku faced off the first, you jumped towards the next one, slamming a foot into its face. “Pandora!” 

The golem pushed itself out of your bag, fluttering towards your head. You twisted, slamming another foot into it. You pushed off your foot and flipped away, allowing a giant block of ice from Todoroki to incase it. You landed on the ground below, the earth cracking beneath you. You looked up to see Izuku finish off the other monster. Iida and Bakugou landed, and you could see Todoroki’s ice covering its legs. Bakugou immediately hurtled himself to the beast in front of you with an explosion ready. His attack shattered it instantly, and you jumped out of the way to avoid chunks of ice and dirt from both monsters.

“Oh wow, guys!” Your classmates ran up to you all. “You guys took that beast down in seconds!” Sato clapped a hand over Todoroki’s shoulder. “That was awesome!”

“You showed that thing who’s boss!” You gut twitched while Kirishima grinned at Bakugou. “We’re not done.” You could hear the earth rumble, shaking as another monster assembled right in front of your eyes. The monster flew to the air, and your classmates glanced around in confusion and slight panic. Your grin widened, and your boots sparked. You could feel the blood in your veins spark and rush through your body in preparation. With a giggle, you stood up while your eyes tracked the dragon like monster. “Alright!” Iida yelled. “Let’s go, Class A!”

Everyone sprang into action, and you turned to Pandora. “How about we get some music to get our blood pumping?  _ Can’t hold us _ .”

Immediately, drums started pounding through Pandora’s speakers, and you rolled your shoulders. Your classmates grinned, and you glanced back to the sky. You jumped just as Shouji and Jirou located some more monsters. The piano in the song echoed through the woods as you and Sero took out a flying dirt beast.

_ “Hey hey hey. Yeah, let’s go! Alright, alright! Okay! Alright, okay! Alright, okay! Whooo!-” _

Sero’s tape wrapped around it’s wings, and you let yourself fall feet first harshly into its back, slamming it into the ground. “Sato, Kirishima!” Sero called out, and they pummeled the beast. You jumped again, the force behind your jump forcing the dirt monster deeper into Sato’s punch. You flipped at the height of your jump and shot down again, drilling a hole through the monster’s body.

_ “-Return of the mac, get up! What it is, what it does, what it is, what it isn’t! Looking for a better way to get up out of bed instead of getting on the internet and checking a new hit me, get up! Fresh out pimp strut walking, little bit of humble, little bit of cautious. Somewhere between like rocky and cosby sweater gang, nope nope, y’all can’t copy! Yup, bad! Moonwalking! This here is our party! My posse’s been on broadway! And we did it our way!-” _

You jumped to your next victim, slamming kick after kick to it until it was down. You landed on its head, slamming one more kick to it to make sure it was down. You breathed in slowly, watching your classmates team up to take out the other quickly appearing beasts. You slowly crouched on your slayed beast and closed your eyes in concentration.

Your boots glowed and the temperature around you rose. The hard earth you stood on warped, turning into a mix of hard rock and near boiling mud. You stood back up, slowly raising a foot with you. The earth followed your foot, and you spun around. You opened your mouth to scream a warning. “Out of the way right now!” Your voice echoed through the forest while the earth twisted around you. With one last yell, you swung your leg downwards, and a gigantic tornado of rock tore a path to the remaining monsters. You could barely hear your classmates’ yells over the roar of the tornado you just unleashed.

It tore the monsters apart as soon as it reached them, and your classmates watched in stunned silence as they fell to pieces.

_ “-Grown music, I shed my skin and put my bones into everything I record to it, and yet I’m on! Let that stage light go and shine on down! Got that Bob Barker suit game and plinko in my style! Money, stay on my craft and stick around for those pounds, but I do that to pass the torch and put on for my town. Trust me. I’m a I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-T shit hustler!-” _

Kirishima threw his hardened fists into the air as he yelled in his excitement. “THAT WAS FREAKING EPIC!” Mina joined in on his screaming, and a short-circuited Kaminari let out a sound close to a scream. He stumbled, almost running into Todoroki and Bakugou.

Your eyes wandered to the three boys staring at you. Todoroki looked almost proud, and impressed, while Bakugou…

He glared at you with the calmest look you had seen on him. You blinked and-

- _ you stared up at Kanda. He glared down at you with the calmest scowl you had seen yet. With a huff, he turned and walked away, roughly ruffling your hair. You whined in annoyance and blinked- _

-You shook yourself out of the memory, blinking. Next to Bakugou and Todoroki was Izuku, who stared at you in what you think is awe. You felt something warm enter your chest and you forced  yourself to look away, focusing on jumping down. The earth rumbled once more, and you all turned back to see more dirt beasts appearing from the ground.

Your class sprang back into action, tearing into the monsters left and right as you slowly made your way to the camp. (You didn’t notice your gut twisting sharper than before.)

* * *

You groaned, wincing as you walked. Your feet were bare, and had been for the past hour or so. You had to deactivate sometime after noon, and your feet were completely covered in dirt. You had run across so many sticks and rocks that you were sure the bottoms of your feet were littered with cuts and gashes. You silently thanked your Innocence for crystallizing in your wounds and healing them. The red anklets around your ankles sparked, shifting slightly. Your class breached the treeline, and you glanced up to the sky. It was orange.

Your classmates stopped in front of the Pro Heros, groaning and panting. You spotted Aithusa near Aizawa, and you felt a smile tug at your lips when Aithusa’s tail wagged. “You said it would only be like, three hours..” Sero whined.

“I guess we timed it based on how long it would take us, sorry!” Mandalay rubbed the back of her head with a gloved hand. You sat down on the ground and started rubbing your feet. You wrinkled your nose at the dirt caked onto your skin. “I’m starving!” Kirishima yelled, head falling back as he held his stomach, “This is hell!”

Pixie-bob covered her mouth with her hands, releasing what you thought were supposed to be giggles. “I thought it would take you kids even longer, but you did much better against my dirt monsters than I thought you would! You guys were seriously great! Especially,” She pointed a claw finger at you and the four boys beside you, “The five of you! It seems like you’ve had quite a bit of experience!” You winced, eyes flicking downwards at that reminder. Suddenly, she was leaping towards you all, and you scooted backwards in surprise. “I call dibs on these kittens! I’ll groom them myself!”

She darted between you, excitedly fussing over you all. You allowed her to with a long sigh as your other classmates watched from the side. You stifled a laugh as Bakugou tried to push Pixie-bob away with one arm to no avail.

“Mandalay, has she always been like this?” Aizawa leaned towards the other female Hero, and she shrugged. “It’s gotten worse lately. She’s at the age to take a mate.” Izuku cut in, glancing behind Pixie-bob towards the little boy hanging by Mandalay’s side. You followed his gaze and peered curiously at him. “Uh, speaking of people’s ages-”

A hand suddenly appeared in his face, clawed fingers gripping his head tightly. Pixie-bob growled into his face, and he spoke against her hand. “-I’ve just been wondering since we got here earlier..Who is that kid? What’s he doing here?” Izuku gestured to where he thought the  boy was standing. “Oh, this little guy? He’s actually my cousin’s son, he just lives with us now!” Mandalay smiled down at the boy. “Don’t be shy, Kota, say hi to everyone! You’re gonna be around them for the next week.”

Izuku was finally freed from Pixie-bob’s grasp and walked over to Kota. He bent down to his level, speaking to the little boy. Due to your distance from them, you couldn’t hear what exactly Izuku said. You flinched as you watched Kota slam a fistinto Izuku crotch, slapping a hand over your mouth. Iida ran forward, yelling, as Izuku crumpled. He caught him while Kota walked away.

- _ You stared at the boy with roller skates on. He peered up at Allen with a frown on his face. Your gut twisted slightly, and you stepped back quickly. Suddenly, the boy threw an onion shaped object at Allen and slid his goggles over his eyes. The thing exploded, smoke swallowing Allen’s form up. You immediately heard sniffles coming from your brother. “What-what is this..?” _

_ The boy laughed. “It’s my own invention, the Onion Bomb!” He then rolled away, shouting over his shoulder as he glared at the both of you. “Sorry, but I can’t just stand by and watch Akuma invade our town! Looks like I’m even braver than you are, Allen!” _ -

“You fiend of a child! A punch to the scrotum is unforgivable!” Kota stopped, turned, and glared coldly at Iida. You shivered when you met his gaze. He was angry, practically seething with rage, but you could see something else in his dark eyes. You’ve seen it many times on Finders and other Exorcists, and in the mirror. You lower your gaze so you wouldn’t have to continue looking at Kota. 

“The last thing I want is to hang with some wannabe heroes.” He growled. You heard him stalk away, his footsteps fading as your classmates yelled after him. “Enough playing around,” Aizawa’s voice cut through the voices, “Get your stuff off the bus. Once your bags are in your rooms, we’ll have dinner in the cafeteria.” Your feet twinged in pain, and you winced. You were used to hard battles that lasted for a long time, but all day? 

Your legs felt like lead, weighing you down just as much as your boots used to. You squeezed your elbows hard, dragging your mind from that dark corner. With a groaning sigh, you let go of your legs, allowing them to slide til they were stretched out in front of you. You slowly rolled onto your knees and moved to get up. A single bolt of lightning pain ran through your muscles, and you could barely move your limbs. As your classmates filed inside, you shifted most of your weight to your hands, which were splayed out in front of you. Your legs twitched, but didn’t move. With a frustrated sigh, you rolled back onto your rear and glanced up.

A limping Izuku was walking towards you, gazing at you in worry. You averted your eyes and glared down at your legs. “Aleah?” Izuku slowly crouched next to you. You paused your glaring to smile brightly up at him. “Hey, you okay, Izuku? That looked like a nasty hit..” Izuku frowned.

“I’m fine,” You were pretty sure his voice was one step away from being a whine, “But more importantly, are you okay? You haven’t moved since you sat down.” His eyes flicked down to your legs, and a peculiar light flashed in them. A hand slowly reached out and fingers gently touched your legs. Izuku’s frown deepened and his gaze returned to yours. You fought the instinctual urge to look away. You knew he knew what’s up, he remembers that day more clearly than you do.

- _ A boy with pretty green eyes crouched in front of you, sparkling gems shining with worry. “Do you need some help?” _ -

“..You can’t move your legs, can you?” You let your smile melt away into a carefully blank expression. (You decided to ignore the look of deja vu in Izuku’s eyes. Yeah, he definitely remembers better than you do.)

“I can kinda move them, but I don’t think I can put weight on them right now.” You leaned back onto your hands. ‘Pathetic..can’t even stand up after all this time of training..Why are you so useless again?!’

- _ You leaned back onto your hands, watching from the sidelines as the ship crew rushed about. Your legs, ruined by the fight with Enshii and wrapped neatly in bandages, hung painfully from your perch atop a box. There were no chairs on top of the deck, for everyone was running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Your gaze flicked down onto your useless legs. You bit your lip and carefully hid the anger and shame that was surely on your face behind a mask of calmness.- _

_ -You groaned pitifully as you tried forcing your legs to move. The black circles that covered your legs glared mockingly at you, flaring up in pain every time you tried standing. You felt tears prick at your eyes, frustration building. Why did the Innocence have to spare you? You can’t even get up anymore! Why did it save you only to punish you this way?!- _

_ -Lenalee’s legs were quickly hidden from view as she laid a soft and light blanket over them. Your own legs, already sore from wearing the heavy boots, tugged into action. They slowly walked you over to her wheelchair, and your hands gripped her larger ones. Your blank eyes met her pained gaze, and you encased her with your numb and smaller body in a hug.- _

“..What?” You glanced up at Izuku and quirked a brow at him. “..Something wrong?” He stared at you in shock and confusion for a long moment. “Aleah, what do you mean ‘useless again’?” Izuku asked slowly. You felt your veins freeze, but your Innocence continued pumping your blood through your body, warming you up quickly. You spoke that out loud..? “You’re not..you’re not pathetic if you can’t stand up! It’s only natural after a day like today!” You averted your gaze. ‘For you, Izu, it would be. But for an Exorcist like me, it shouldn’t be normal.’

“..Aleah, please look at me.” You shifted. A hand snaked its way towards one of your own, grabbing it gently and intertwining your fingers. A thumb rubbed against your skin. “Why do you think of yourself pathetic right now? You’re one of the strongest people I know!” Izuku shifted closer. “Just because you tired out your legs, doesn’t mean you’re useless or anything!”

“Izuku, where I’m from, being unable to move is a bad thing.” You cut through his comforting words. “Being immoblie is practically a death sentence.”

“..What do you mean by that..?” You shrug and try to move your legs once more. “Hey, mind helping me inside?” Izuku hesitated, then slowly scooped you up into his arms and stood up. You wrapped your arms around his neck, heart thumping. (Why was it beating like that? Are you sick?) Izuku’s hands tightened around you, holding you closer. His eyes were staring at something near your face, and you peered into his pretty, emerald eyes. “Well..I don’t know much, but..” He glanced at you, and your breath hitched at the determined but soft look in his eyes, “Wherever you’re from, you’re not there. You’re  _ here _ , where people love and care about you. So, let others help you up when you fall, okay?”

_ -The ship’s crew laughed, singing drunkenly to the lyrics of an old sea chanty. Miss Anita grabbed your hand and swayed side to side, singing along with the loud men around you. You sipped your soda as you watched the crewmates celebrate their victory against the Akuma that had attacked earlier. You glanced down at your bandaged legs. Closing your eyes, you allowed the loud and somewhat off key singing littered with laughter to wash over you, cheering you up slowly. With a growing smile, you stood up and began to sing, throwing a full glass of soda into the air in a toast. Everyone cheered and raised their own glasses.- _

_ -You huffed in frustration as you willed your legs to move. Frustrated tears welled up in your eyes while the crew watched on. Suddenly, you felt arms hook under both of your armpits and lift you up. With a startled squeak, you glanced to either side of you. Lavi grinned at you on your right, while Krory gently smiled from your left. The tall men placed you on your feet gently and let go, allowing you to stand on your own. Miss Anita grabbed your hand and dragged you down to the lower levels of the military ship where the medical bay was located.- _

_ -Lenalee’s eyes welled up with tears while she watched you finally master a Waltz. She smiled proudly, rolling over to where you were sprawled on the ground and picking you up. She placed you on your feet and hugged you. You could feel the laughter bubbling up inside of her before it revealed itself. “Oh, I’m so proud! You did so good, Aleah! And, we’ll work on your landings next time, okay?”- _

Izuku started walking towards the building the classes were going to be staying at. You continued to stare at him. Your blood sparked violently in your veins, and you felt your face warm up. 

In a split second decision, you shove your face into his neck to hide. He squeaked. You squeaked in response. After a moment of silence, the two of you burst into laughter, and Izuku almost dropped you.

You laughed harder, giggling into his neck while he carried you inside to eat.

* * *

You sighed as you slipped into the hot water. It quickly turned into a groan as the heat soaked into your muscles, soothing the aches in pains in your feet and legs. You stretched, gazing up at the stars.

A moment of peace passed, and you glanced over at the giant wall separating the girls’ springs from the boys’. It was quiet now, but you remember hearing screaming earlier. Everyone was already gone and possibly asleep by now, so you’re left to wonder what happened earlier.

With another sigh, you sank deeper into the warm water, fingers ghosting over the scars covering your body. They all were faint, enough where if someone wasn’t looking for them, they wouldn’t find the slightly discolored skin or the slightly raised bumps of scar tissue. You always admired those with healing quirks. 

..You always wanted one, but you’re quirkless. You shrugged and closed your eyes. Oh well, no point in worrying over the little things. With a groan of happiness, you leaned your head back. The water felt so good, you wanted to stay forever!

‘I should probably get out soon, though.’ You wrinkled your nose. ‘I shouldn’t stay long here, or else I might fall asleep..Eh, I’ll get out in a few minutes.’

(The next thing you knew, you had face planted into the water when you fell asleep. You decided to leave after that.)

* * *

You yawned as Aizawa stopped in a clearing. Jirou followed your lead. “Good morning class. Today, we will begin the training camp that will increase your strength.” You rubbed your eyes tiredly while the rest of Aizawa’s speech blurred into a string of incomprehensible noises. You dozed off, mind going in and out of a daze. Suddenly, someone yelled, and you jumped.

“GO TO HELL!” 

**_BOOM!_ **

Your eyes widened, and your mind snapped awake. The red anklets spun crazily around your ankles while you stumbled, hands searching for purchase. You grabbed onto Todoroki’s sleeve in a vice grip and watched Bakugou’s form with wide eyes. You took in a shuddering breath, exhaling out harshly. Todoroki turned to you. “Are you okay?” He asked quietly, and you shook your head rapidly. “Yeah, fine. Totally fine. It’s not like that scared me out of my doze or anything. Totally saw that coming from a mile away.”

“That was seven-oh-nine point six meters.” Oh, now you know what’s going on. You snorted in disbelief. 

“That’s it? Kinda disappointing..” Sero murmured. Aizawa turned back to the rest of the class and fixed a cold look on his face. “You’ve had a single semester at U.A., and due to your various experiences all of you have definitely improved. But those improvements have mostly been limited to mental prowess and technical skill, with a slight increase of stamina thrown in along the way.” You finally let Todoroki go and rub your arms. “As you can see, your quirks themselves have not improved much on a fundamental level.” You heard a soft gasp from somewhere to your left, but didn’t try to find the source of it. “That’s why we’re now going to focus on improving your powers.”

A smirk appeared on Aizawa’s face, and your gut twisted. You mentally prepared yourself for whatever he was going to throw at you next. “This’ll be so hard, you’ll feel like you’re dying. Let’s hope you all survive.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soooo, we've finally made it to one of my favorite arks in the series. *squeal* god, i'm so happy to be here finally! there's not much going on here, but we'll get there soon! also, i'm apologizing in advance, but the next few chapters or so are gonna be shorter than usual. sorry. anyways, i hope you all liked the chapter and that you'll have an awesome day/night! you're all AWESOME! XP


	17. Chapter 16

You groaned as you landed, your legs throbbing from the pain. Your boots flashed, sparks shooting off of it. With a grunt, you slowly stood up, one hand propped against your hip while the other was placed against your knee.

Panting, you looked up, one eye closed to prevent a drop of sweat from falling into your eye. Your legs trembled underneath you, threatening to fall.

“Again. One more time, lets go, Boots.” You raised a trembling leg, weakly letting it fall into a kick before your Innocence deactivated. You fell to your knees and almost landed on your face, but your hands caught you. You hissed at the rocks cutting into your skin, but for the most part, you ignored it. Your Dark Boots will fix it up in no time. Your feet throbbed painfully, and you glowered at the dummies in front of you.

You had been tasked to use all of your Waltzes on the small army of dummies. The catch; you couldn’t move on to another Waltz until you could make a regular sized tornado hit a dummy five times in a row. Over half of the dummies in front of you were unharmed, but you couldn’t say the same to your surroundings. Patches of grass were burnt to a crisp, and most of the ground had been torn up by your earth attack. You climbed to your feet unsteadily. “Come on, Dark Boots. One more time, please. We’re almost there..”

Your Innocence sparked harshly, and you yelped. You fell back to your knees. “Okay, okay. You win. We’ll take a break.” You let yourself fall forward until you were laying down face first. You rolled onto your back and closed your eyes. “What do you think you’re doing?”

You groaned internally and murmured loud enough to where Aizawa could hear. “Dark Boots wanted to take a break. We both needed one, and I needed a moment to think.”

“..The Innocence wanted a break?”

You nodded. “Yeah. Didn’t you know? Innocence is sentient. Well, we think it is. It’s given a lot of evidence to suggest it is, but at the same time it gave us just as much evidence to suggest it’s not sentient. If that makes sense at all.” You covered your closed eyes with an arm, and you wrinkled your nose. Your skin was sweaty and sticky, but you were too tired to care about it anymore. “It is the one who chooses who and how it’ll be connected to, and we Accommodators don’t really have much say otherwise. So, I kinda can’t ignore the Dark Boots. If it wants me to do something badly, I’m going to have to do it.” You let the ‘or else’ go unspoken.

Aizawa crouched next to your head. “So it’s like a partnership.” You nodded again. “Yeah, a bit messed up one, but still a partnership. Hey,” You removed your sticky arm from your face and opened your eyes, peering up at Aizawa, “Do they have a pool?”

Aizawa frowned. “Why do you want to know?” You shrugged. “My master had me stay underwater for as long as I could when I was younger as an exercise. It helped me fight underwater better, but I still need to improve on it. I haven’t had the chance to work on it since before the last H.Q. was destroyed. I’d like to use the exercise while I’m taking breaks from my Innocence.”

Aizawa hummed, gaze glancing up towards the main building. “I’ll see if they have one. If not, I’ll see what I can do. Stay here.”

“‘Kay!”

* * *

“Hey Midoriya? Why are you giving Aleah a piggy back ride?” Mina asked as both Classes 1-B and 1-A gathered in the outdoor kitchen area. “You know what? Better question; how do you have enough energy to do so? And can you give me some?” You blink, amusement tugging your lips higher into a smile. The class, attention caught by Mina’s question, turned to the both of you.

You shrugged, grip tightening slightly around Izuku’s neck. “I can’t move my legs again, and Izuku was nice enough to carry me. Even though he’s just as tired as I am, he insisted on carrying me all the way here so I wouldn’t fall again.”

_ -You groaned while you dragged yourself away from your secluded training area, legs creaking in pain and weighing like lead. You tripped, but quickly found your footing before you could fall too much. _

_ God, Aizawa wasn’t kidding. You do feel like you’re dying! Even the training Master gave you wasn’t as bad as this! Granted, he was a kind old man, so you think he might’ve given you some mercy by holding back on you. You were a toddler when you were first placed in his care, after all. _

_ “Oh, Aleah!” You glanced behind you to see Izuku tiredly walking towards you. He smiled, and you waved. Well, your hand tried to wave. Even though it wasn’t as tired as the rest of you, your arm did not want to move. You blamed it on the fact that you were too tired and sweaty to care enough to put actual effort into the gesture. You started walking again when Izuku reached your side, and you tried not to trip again. _

_ “Are you alright?” He asked, hands moving instinctually each time your body teetered to one side. You righted yourself before he could get very far in catching you, so each time he dragged his hands back to his chest. You nodded. “Mhm! Just tired is all! I’ve never trained that hard before, which is kinda surprising, given my family’s background..” Izuku hummed. “Oh, okay! Um..do you..maybe..want a ride?” _

_ You turned to him, and he gestured to his back. “Hmm, nah. You’re just as tired as I am, and I can still walk! I’ll be fine on my own!” _

_ “Okay, if you’re sure.” You smiled at him. “I’m sure!”  _

_ Your legs decided that moment was the moment they had enough. As if giving you the metaphorical finger, they gave out underneath you. You started falling, but a pair of strong arms caught you. You blinked, feeling your chest warm up, and glanced behind you. Izuku’s worried and slightly panicked face met yours, and you let out a nervous giggle. “Um, is that piggy back ride offer still on the table? I think I might need it after all..” _

_ Izuku’s pretty eyes blinked once before he nodded. “Ah, yeah! Here, I’ll carry you to the kitchen!” You tilted your head. “Oh, you don’t have to! Just until I get enough energy to walk again!” _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “No, I have to insist! I don’t want you falling and hurting yourself!”- _

“Hey, isn’t this the second time you’ve had to carry her, Deku?” Uraraka popped up out of nowhere, and Mina leaned closer to the two of you. You leaned away slightly, a little bit scared of the glint in her eye. “Hey, are you two secretly dating? You’ve been awfully close lately, ever since the internships! You’re even using each other’s given names!” Izuku stumbled, choking. 

You squeaked, limbs tightening around Izuku’s body in your panic. He whipped his gaze to your pink skinned friend once he regained his footing. “I-It's not like th-that!” Mina grinned and shrugged. “Sure, if you say so!”

A whistle cut through your conversation, and the entire group of students turned to see Ragdoll and Pixie-bob near several tables full of food. “Now, remember what I said? We’re not serving your food anymore!” Pixie-bob yelled with her claws unsheathed.

“If you guys want to eat, you’ll have to make your own meals! Starting with curry!” You tilted your head to one side. Huh, you’ve never had curry before..This should be interesting. The students sagged around you. “YES MA’AM..” Ragdoll started laughing, finding your situation hilarious. “Oh man, you guys look exhausted! But that doesn’t mean you can coast by making sloppy cat food!” Iida suddenly snapped his fingers together, mumbling to himself, and turned to his fellow students. “Let’s make the most delicious curry in the world everyone!”   
  
“YEAH, OKAY..” With a hum, you tapped Izuku’s shoulder and pointed to a table with knives and cutting boards. “You can just set me down there.” He nodded and walked over to it, setting you down gently. You quietly thanked him and grabbed a knife and cutting board, ready to start chopping food up.

A few hours later, you were munching happily on a bowl of curry, swinging your legs back and forth. You laughed as Jirou punched Sero in the face, covering your mouth. “Apologize!” Sero groaned and held up his hands. “Okay, I’m sorry!”

“Kota! It’s time for dinner! Where are you?” Mandalay’s voice called out, and your head popped up. You swung your gaze back and forth, looking for the small boy from earlier. You stood up just as you spotted Izuku filling another bowl of curry and walking away. ‘Now, where is he going?’ Frowning, you quietly followed him. He continued onto a dirt path leading deeper into the woods, and you silently walked behind him.

Soon, he reached a cliff side, where Kota sat at the edge of the cliff. You hung back and watched as Izuku approached him. You stepped back into the dark shadows when Kota shot a glare at your friend. From your position, you couldn’ hear a single word they were saying besides their voices. Soon, Izuku backed away, leaving the bowl of curry there. You stepped out of the forest when he was a good distance from Kota and waved. Izuku jumped, yet jogged over to you. “Hey, there you are! I was looking for you!” You lied. You felt a pang of guilt and shame hit you for lying to the class sweetheart, but you ignored it. 

“You were? Sorry,” Izuku rubbed the back of his neck, “I had something I needed to do.” You shrugged and linked your arm with his, pulling him along with you back to the camp. “It’s okay! It’s just, you disappeared and I got worried. For a split second, I thought you got attacked by a bear or something!” You laughed lightly.

As the two of you made your way back, you noticed Izuku stealing worried glances over his shoulder. You didn’t blame him. You rubbed your stomach as it tugged painfully, and this time, you knew something was wrong.

Something bad was going to happen, and you won’t continue ignoring your gut feeling. Not again.

* * *

“Let me loose-!”

“Calm down, already!” 

“Don’t get your panties in a twist, we’ll get some action soon. Just have to be patient.”

“I don’t want to wait anymore!”

“Just a little more, then we can put the plan into action.”

* * *

Your lungs burned, and you kicked upwards. Your head breached the water, and you gasped a huge breath of air in. Before you could dunk yourself back under, someone called out. “Walker.” You slipped the wet goggles off your face and peered up at Aizawa. He stood at the edge of the pool. “Yeah?” Your voice echoed off the walls slightly, and you could still hear the sounds of your fellow students training from outside.

“I’ve got news for tonight. You’re going to have a competition tonight, so be ready.” You hum, swimming towards him. “That’s it? Am I allowed to have more hints?” You say as you peer behind him to the doorway. Standing a little inside the room was Mina, staring at the pool in shock. Behind her were the other extra lessons students. Oh, so that’s why he called you by your last name.

“You’ll learn more later,” Aizawa turned and started walking away, “In the meantime, go back to your dummies. I think you’ve had enough time in the water.” You pouted, yet climbed out and gave him a two finger salute. “Yes sir..”

You watched Aizawa drag the half dead students away in amusement before heading to the locker rooms to change back into your training uniform.

* * *

“Show me what you’ve got!” Izuku jumped as Tiger suddenly appeared in his face once more, yet he quickly powered up  _ One for All _ . ‘ _ One for All _ , five percent!’ He clenched one of his hands into a fist and swung a punch at Tiger, but the Pro Hero avoided it once more and punched him square in the jaw. Izuku grunted when his back hit a nearby tree again, and he fell to the ground. He crawled to his feet and jogged back to his spot, continuing his training.

Suddenly, the ground shook, and Izuku stumbled while cries of panic from Class B rang out. 

“What was that?!” One student with brown fur and glasses called out. “Are we being attacked again?!” Another whipped her gaze back and forth to find the source of the shaking.

“Look!” Momo yelled pointing towards a cluster of trees. Funny, wasn’t that where you were training..?

The entire section of forest swayed back and forth while a giant tornado of rock rose up above the treetops. Izuku watched in stunned awe as the attack crashed into more trees. The sounds of branches creaking and snapping grated on his ears, and he slapped his hands onto them. The tornado died down, and soon, Izuku could see a black figure flying towards the large clearing where the rest of the classes were training. You landed, skidding to a halt in front Pixie-bob. You sheepishly grinned up at her. “Hi! So uh, I might need new dummies..Do you have more?”

“That was you?!” Someone from Class B called out, and you gave them a shrug. “Yeah, sorry about that..Did I scare you?”   
  
“Walker!” Iida stopped next you, hand chopping wildly. “Please do not destroy the forest! There are multiple animal species living there!” You waved a hand. “I know! I didn’t mean to! It won’t happen again, promise!”

“YOU DIDN’T ‘MEAN TO’?!” Class 1-B yelled, and you rubbed your neck with a hand with a nervous laugh. “Yeah..? So anyways,” You turned back to Pixie-bob, “Is it possible if I could have more dummies?”

* * *

“Well, look at that..”

“Such a powerful attack..Who made it?”

“Oh, I would love to meet that darling! Think we can bring them with us?”

“I’ll call the brat king. Give me a minute.”

“Well, this should be interesting..Do you think we can capture them safely?”

“Hopefully I can trap them in a marble before they notice me, so yes, we can. It’ll just be tricky.”   
  
“He wants them. Let’s bring them in with this Bakugou kid.”

“Understood.”   


* * *

“Perfect! We’ve filled our bellies and cleaned the dishes!” Pixie-bob placed her hands on her hips. “It’s time for-!”

“A totally awesome test of courage!” Mina interrupted, jumping up and down as the four boys taking extra lessons with her cheered. “We’re gonna win!” Aizawa appeared behind them. “Not so fast.” You hid a smile when their smiles froze. “It pains me to say it,” You bet it didn’t, “But the remedial class will be having lessons with me tonight instead.”

Mina’s frozen expression of excitement melted into one of horror. “YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME?!” Aizawa snapped his scarf around their bodies and started dragging them away. “Sorry. Your training during the day didn’t impress me, so I’ll be using this time too.” The wails of your classmates echoed through the forest while they were carted off, and you bit your lip to keep from laughing. Todoroki glanced at you out of the corner of his eye, but kept quiet as the Wild, Wild Pussycats explained the rules of the competition. You slipped a hand in his and squeezed, leaning towards him once the Pro Heros started handing out the name slips. “Hey,” You whispered softly, “Be careful tonight, okay?” He shot a confused glance at you. “This is a safe activity..?”

You retracted your hand from his when Pixie-bob handed the two of you slips of paper. You leaned back towards him while he looked over the name on his own paper. “Hey, do you have an eight?” Todoroki glanced at your paper. “No. Sorry. I have a two.”

You nodded with a hum. With a glance around, you noticed most of your classmates had already paired up. All who were left were you, Izuku, Bakugou, and Todoroku. “Who has number two?!” Bakugou roared.

“Bakugou is apparently my partner..”

You felt yourself stop. “..Um, I don’t think that’s a good idea, pairing you two together.” Todoroki shrugged. “Me neither, but we were randomly assigned.” You sighed and patted his shoulder before turning to find Izuku. When you did find him, he was staring at his paper so intently you briefly thought he was trying to burn holes into it.

With a quiet laugh, you headed over to him and stopped right in front of him. You waited for him to notice you, but when he didn’t, you decided to speak up. “It’s kinda funny how we keep bumping into each other, you know?” Izuku jumped with a squeak, face flushing as he quickly  met your amused gaze. He cleared his throat and nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. “Y-Yeah! It i-is.” You turned when Mineta yelled, slowly dragging himself towards Momo. You frowned while Aoyama rapidly shook his head at whatever the small gremlin asked him.

“At least none of us girls got paired up with him..” You murmured, hands rubbing your arms. “I couldn’t have guaranteed his safety if he was with me..” Izuku followed your line of sight. “..Is he really that bad?” You sighed. “Unfortunately, yes. Makes me twice as glad I got you as a partner.” You paused, then whipped your gaze back to him and waved your hands around. “I swear I didn’t mean that as an insult or anything! I’m really glad you’re my partner not just because you’re not Mineta, but also ‘cause you’re a really sweet person and a really good friend and-and I’m just gonna shut up now-” You slapped your hands over your mouth to try and stop the stream of words from coming out. You felt your face heat up and you shot an apologetic glance at Izuku.

“O-Oh, it’s fine! Really! I didn’t get offended by that at all!” He smiled gently at you, but you continued to keep your mouth covered. “Next team!” Pixie-bob ushered Uraraka and Tsuyu into the forest. A minute after they walked in, your gut twisted sharply.

You gasped, doubling over in pain. Izuku cried out while you panted heavily. “Aleah! Are you okay?! What’s wrong?!” You shot your gaze up, eyes wide, while Pixie-bob muttered. “What’s this foul smell in the air..?” You spotted something that made your stomach drop to your feet.

“Look over there!” You pointed to the treetops where black smoke rose up.You could barely see blue sparks over their leaves. “What is that?” Izuku muttered to himself while everyone else turned to look. “Black smoke!” Mandalay placed a hand to her chin. 

“Had something been set ablaze?!”

“Maybe a fire on the mountain?!”

You slipped off your shoes and quickly activated your boots. This wasn’t Akuma, even though they would’ve been attracted to the camp due to your Innocence. And you knew for a fact that it wasn’t nature; mountain fires don’t burn blue. This was man made. 

Someone’s here that’s not supposed to be.

* * *

“Now, it begins.” A man grinned as he set another tree on fire, the blue flames quickly engulfing the plant.

A girl giggled as she adjusted her grip on her new knives, the clunky support items strapped to her thumping as she skipped through the forest.

A boy, no older than fourteen, grinned underneath his gas mask.

A large woman set down her equally large weapon while her companion took out a large cluster of blades.

A large man covered in a cloak walked calmly towards a little boy alone on a cliffside, muscles twitching underneath the fabric.

Another man landed on a tree branch, face mask turning this way and that in search of two teenagers.

A figure stumbled through the woods, mouth hanging open while they hunted for something to satiate their hunger.

“Take them down, those who believe they deserve the title ‘Hero’. We, the Vanguard Action Squad of the League of Villains, will tear them off their pedestals.”   


* * *

“Hey, what-!” You spun around to see Pixie-bob flying into the woods. Mandalay cried her Hero name out. You heard a crunch and a thud as something hit Pixie-bob in the head and she fell. The something that hit her pinned her down to the ground, and a pair of figures stalked out of the dark woods. “First, let’s get rid of these feral cats.” 

Mineta stepped back in fear while the remaining Pro Heros formed a line between you and your fellow students and the new players. “I thought they made sure no one could find us..So why the heck are villains attacking this place?!” Your eyes widened a fraction. No one...was supposed to know you were here..

Your mind flashed back to the day the League attacked the first time, and you felt an ice cold wave crash into you. Wasn’t the door blocking the reporters from getting in disintegrated..? Your eyes widened even more, and in your rising horror, your hand shot to your mouth. Not one reporter or cameraman in the crowd had a quirk that could do that, you already checked. And the leader of the League, the one who paid Izuku a surprise visit the other day, did have one. You whimpered, tears welling up in your eyes and blurring your vision quickly. 

This is just like the H.Q. Massacre all over again..

“Now, which one of you darlings is responsible for that devastating attack earlier?” You blinked. What..? Your gut twisted, and pain lanced up your body. Were they..after you? You glanced around, and you finally realized that Kota was nowhere in sight.

You gasped, whirling around to search for the young boy. “Walker, Midoriya!” Iida yelled, and you looked over to him. The small group of students left had started running, but stopped when  Iida noticed the two of you standing still. “Go on without me!” Izuku yelled and turned to Mandalay. “Mandalay! Kota, I know where he is!” Your breath hitched. “I’ll go find him and bring him back safely!” And with that, Izuku activated his quirk. 

You lunged forward and grabbed his elbow before he could run. He glanced at you, and you slid your hand down to his. “I’m coming with you!” Izuku nodded, and he shot off like a rocket with you hot on his heels.

He bounced from tree to tree, and the blur of the green lightning crackling over his skin quickly became the only thing you could see of his body. Green flames erupted from your feet, and you zipped around tree trunks and bushes. Just as you spotted a small slip of the cliff, something tugged you back and you looked down at your body. It was covered in a pink glow. You screeched as you were yanked back towards the villains. Izuku glanced back, but you gestured to the cliff. “Find Kota! I’ll be fine-!” Your back hit a tree and you yelped. You twisted your body around to see the hard obstacles in your impromptu flight back. You glanced back at Izuku before he was out of your sight. 

“Find him! And good luck!”

And he was gone.

You turned back and continued doing your best to dodge the many trees you were barreling towards. You grunted in pain when your front slammed into a tree, and you twisted to kick off of it. Your feet were too far from the ground, so you couldn’t dig them into the ground to stop your movement. ‘Wait,’ You thought as you kicked off of a tree truck once more, ‘Isn’t this taking me directly to that villain..? So that means,’ Your eyes widened. ‘They’ll be able to stop me with their club if they’re fast enough, but if I add onto the speed I’m already at, then they won’t catch me in time.’ You gathered power into your boots, bringing your feet up to crouch into the burst of power. Fire burst forth from your boots, and the wind whipped across your skin from the blast your boots produced.

With one final screech, you burst through the tree line. Everyone stopped and turned to you, quickly taking in the pinkish glow around your body. Tiger and Mandalay jumped back as the taller villain’s quirk dragged you closer to them. Everything seemed to slow down the moment you saw the villain realize what you were doing. They deactivated their quirk, throwing themself to the side to dodge your feet. You landed on the ground, skidding to a halt.

“Walker!” Mandalay yelled, and you felt your body move by itself. You grunted when the pink glow returned. But before you could blink, the villain whapped a fist across your head and you fell to the ground. You grunted and, shifting your weight to your arms, shoved a foot into what you hoped was the villain’s face. You flipped over and jumped towards your classmates, not giving the villain any time for a counterattack. You landed and turned back to the villains.

“Nice try, darling.” The tall villain lowered their club and grinned. They were fast enough to block your admittedly weak attack with their weapon, and now there was a small crater in the concrete. The lizard man looked you up and down. “I think that’s the one who made that tornado earlier.” You winced. Not good. Definitely not good.

“Walker, where’s Midoriya?! And Kota?!” Mandalay yelled as she blocked yet another attack from the lizard. You glanced at her. “I was snatched before I could do anything, Izuku’s getting Kota! He’ll be fine, don’t worry!” Just as you said that, the ground shook. You stumbled. It shook again, even stronger now, and you whipped your gaze back to the cliff where Izuku was heading towards. Was he..fighting? An image of your old headquarters flashed through your mind, and a memory of Allen’s bleeding and tired body forcing itself to move merged with Izuku’s broken one. You felt your breath hitch in your rising panic.

Another rumble of the earth shook you again. You needed to get to Izuku.

You glanced back at the villain with the club. ‘But, if I go, they’ll keep bringing me back. And Izuku needs help if what I think is happening is actually happening! How..?’ You flicked your eyes around, trying to think of a plan. 

‘Izuku, Kota, hold on!’

* * *

“Stop, LET HIM GO!”

Izuku opened his eyes slowly. “Ko..ta..”

His broken hand twitched before clenching tighter into a fist. He moved his left arm under him and  **_pushed_ ** .

“I WON’T LET YOU HURT KOTA!” He screamed, lightning sparking off his skin. Izuku managed to get to his knees while the large ball of disgusting, writhing muscles and tendons cursed. “DAMMIT! HOW ARE YOU GETTING STRONGER?!”

The rock around them rumbled, cracking loudly as the two forces of power battled against each other. Izuku shifted onto his feet, pushing the villain back with his broken beyond repair arm. “YOU WON’T LAY A HAND ON HIM!”

‘ _ One for All _ , one million percent!’ Izuku felt the power build up in his body, charging through every fiber of his being. ‘DELAWARE-’ He opened the hand stuck in Muscular’s muscle tendons forcefully, tearing the red, living nightmare apart. ‘-DETROIT-’ He swung his right arm back in a fist and  **_punched_ ** _.  _ Izuku’s fist immediately tore through the large arm Muscular tried protecting himself with and landed in the villain’s face.

The larger man went flying, landing in the cliff side with a loud boom and laying still in a crater. The earth rumbled one final time before finally lying still. Izuku panted, body slowly shifting into an upright position and placing his foot firmly in the dirt to steady himself. 

He let his head fall back, eyes staring up at the stars.

He won. Izuku won, and saved Kota! As he closed his eyes, Izuku realized one last thing he had to do. 

He needed to save Kaachan.

* * *

“So, what is it you wanted to talk with me about, General?” Lenalee stopped, turning to the older man. He adjusted his wide glasses and looked up at the sky. It was nearing two in the afternoon, and the bright sun was blocked by a few clouds. Birds were singing in the forest around them, and the waves crashed into the cliffside and beach. It was especially refreshing to feel the warm rays from the sun since it had been raining for days in this small town.

If it weren’t for the fact that Tiedoll had a somber look in his eye, Lenalee would’ve been fooled into thinking that all he wanted to do was catch up with an old friend and soak up the brief sunlight.

He turned to look at her, his gray mustache twitching as he thought of what to say. Lenalee observed the old artist for a moment before turning back to the ocean before them. She let the silence drag on, patiently waiting for Tiedoll to speak. Finally, he did, and Lenalee stopped breathing.

“About a week ago, Allen Walker escaped from a small city we had cornered him in and there has been zero sightings of him since,” The old man ran a hand through his gray and curly hair, sighing, “I helped him escape.” 

Lenalee suddenly understood why he brought her outside to talk about this instead of in her enclosed office where somebody could hear them. The CROWs were still crawling around in there, and the sounds of the waves crashing couldn’t drown out this treasonous conversation. She bit her lip and he continued. “The reason why I’m telling you this is because of what I overheard Allen and Yu were talking about while I was helping them.” Lenalee ignored the fact that the reason Kanda left so suddenly was finally brought to light out of the blue and decided to slowly glance up at him. He had returned his gaze back to the horizon, looking every bit the artist itching to paint the beautiful landscape before him that he was. “And that is?”

“Allen talked like something forced him to leave the Order, something other than the Noahs. And something had managed to destroy Timcanpy, which not even the Noah clan could do,” Lenalee’s eyes widened and she placed a hand over her mouth. Tiedoll turned his wise but  gentle eyes back to her, “I think something else is chasing Allen, and that’s why he initially ran and is still running. Something that neither side of the war could have anticipated.”

“And you think that something originally came from the Church.” Lenalee finished. Tiedoll nodded. “How else would it find Allen in the first place? He was locked in the deepest part of the dungeons, and no one saw anything before he escaped. And I doubt if it weren’t for the fact that the Fourteenth wakes up every now and then, the Noahs wouldn’t have known, either.”

Lenalee hummed. Now that she was thinking about it, something was nagging at her. What was it..? ‘Okay, think back, Lenalee. What do you remember happening that night?’ She closed her eyes and thought.

_ -Allen and Aleah inside Timcanpy’s mouth while Tykki dragged the large golem away. Road leaned into Allen, unconscious it seemed like.- _

_ -Link’s body being found, and soon after, Central declared him murdered by the Fourteenth.- _

_ -The guards were found unconscious with white feathery tendrils curling around-no, crawling out of their eyes.- _

The nagging feeling grew sharper, and Lenalee frowned. The answer was in her memories, but where was it? She looked closer in each memory.

_ -Allen and Aleah inside Timcanpy’s mouth with Road leaning against them, unconscious. Tykki glanced back with a grin.- _

_ -Link’s body being found by Central agents, most likely CROWs, and old man Zu from the Asian branch came.- _

_ -The guards were lying on the floor with what appeared to be Allen’s Crowned Clown cloak crawling out of their eyes.- _

Wait..

_ -Allen and Aleah were afraid, staring at something inside Allen’s old cell. Aleah huddled into Allen, curling into a tight ball, terrified face never moving. (She only ever looked like that when Leville was around, which was a common sight in H.Q. now.) Tykki glanced back, his grin tight and eyes wide.- _

_ -Link’s body was never shown to the public, in fact, it was like all traces of him just..disappeared. Only Central operatives were allowed to have official funerals, but no one heard of one for Link, Leville’s right hand.- _

_ -The guards were found with Innocence crawling out of their eyes, but once they woke up, it disappeared. They also had no memory of ever falling asleep.- _

_ -...General Cross’ guards woke up in front of his door right before he vanished once more, and when the Science Division looked back into the security footage, they found most of the footage to be white snow around the time his guards saw him half dying. Before the video had been corrupted, the guards were perfectly awake and alert, and after, they had white, feathery tendrils crawling out of..their..eyes….- _

Lenalee’s eyes snapped open. “Tiedoll..?” He hummed. “Yes?” She turned to look at him with wide eyes, fear slowly dawning in her purple irises. She snatched a piece of his jacket sleeve, pulling him closer and murmured as loud as she dared.

“It’s an Innocence fragment.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so. things are officially going down in the Black Order. in case you guys haven't noticed, i updated the tags recently. in case you haven't seen the new tags, Allen and Aleah are officially twins. which means she's the oldest in the class now. she's still younger than Allen by a few minutes, though. i hope you all liked this chapter, and that you'll have a great day/night! you're all AWESOME! XP


	18. Chapter 17

You groaned, hand holding your head as you stumbled through the woods. The villain, Magne you think, hit you earlier with their cement pillar club. They (or was it ‘she’? You’re pretty sure it’s ‘she’.) left a large wound on your head, and even though your Innocence prevented blood loss, you were pretty sure you had a severe concussion from her blow.

Your vision swam once more, making our head pound harder. You quietly cursed. “Come on, Boots..Why won’t you heal it..?”

Something snapped, and you stumbled to a stop. Another round of pain washed through your body, and you leaned against what you think is a tree. You blinked, and you were on the ground. You glanced up as the snapping continued, and there was suddenly someone crouching in front of you. They reached out a hand, and before you knew it, you were somewhere very, _very_ _small and_ ** _dark_**.

_ -You choked, coughing up water. Your Innocence encased you, protecting you from the deadly water pressure from the ocean around you. You couldn’t see, and you could barely move. The  _ Dark Boots _ had wrapped itself so tightly around you, you couldn’t shift your tired body. You gasped, legs burning and tears starting to fall.  _

_..Are you dead..? You’re pretty sure you should be dead, you literally turned yourself into a human meteor just so you could purify a Level 3. You opened your eyes just a smidge. It was still black, but you could kinda see a greenish glow. _

_ You whimpered. The pain in your legs bordered unbearable, and you squeezed your eyes shut tightly. Oh, you wished someone could find you. You didn’t like it here; it was dark and cramped, and you could barely breathe..oh wait, you were hyperventilating.  _

_ You passed out soon after that, long before Lavi decided to come out and find you. _

_ ‘Somebody, please help me..’- _

* * *

“Well, isn’t that a tragedy? Poor little Todoroki Shouto.” ..Who..was that?

“Hold on, they had Walker as well?!” ..Shoji..?

“Checkmate.” Why is your head pounding..?

“KAACHAN NO!” That was..Izuku..

“Stay back, Deku.” What’s going on?

“ALEAH! KAACHAN!” Why did Izuku sound so...terrified?

Darkness consumed your blurry vision. The last thing you saw was a figure with green hair and pretty green eyes running at you at full speed. His tears streamed down his face while you were pulled backwards by something you couldn’t see.

You reached a hand out for him, blindly groping for the teen. “Don’t..cry..We’ll see each other..again..” Your fingers brushed something, and you were suddenly yanked backwards.

You fully passed out when a needle injected itself into your skin.

* * *

Lenalee fiddled with her coat sleeves as Tiedoll pushed her chair inside. He hummed a merry tune, but she knew it was all an act. A duo of CROW agents passed by, probably on their rounds, and Lenalee could barely hold back the instinctual flinch her brain wanted her to do. She kept her gaze straight ahead, avoiding the CROWs’ masks.

When they finally turned the corner, Tiedoll leaned closer to her. “So, what’s this I hear about a new ‘law’? I’ve been gone hunting Allen down for the past few months that I’m unfortunately a bit behind on the best selling news story here in England.” He said with a chuckle.

Lenalee glanced up at him. “The Pope made a new restriction on us. Well, Central is calling it a ‘law’, but it means the same thing when it’s us involved. They’re pretty much forcing us to give up our last shreds of privacy by putting trackers on our computers and golems. I think they’re trying to catch supporters of Allen and Aleah with this, but I don’t think it’s going to work much.” 

“That’s..disturbing.” Lenalee sighed, shrugging. “Tell me about it. But, as always, they won’t listen to us. Especially Exorcists turned scientists like me.” Tiedoll placed a warm hand on her shoulder, rubbing it gently. She leaned closer to him, murmuring, “I even heard a rumor that Leville was the one who first mentioned it a month ago, in their monthly meeting. According to my brother, he’s been pushing for it ever since, and the Pope agreed with him.” Lenalee could feel Tiedoll’s deep frown, even without looking. “That man..”

“If you two are talking about Leville, I would quiet down if I were you.” Lenalee jumped, hand lashing out in a punch. Reever dodged it, hands holding onto a small stack of papers. Cache stood behind him, and Lenalee fought against the painful tug in her heart at seeing the plus sized woman. (She looked almost just like her older brother, Tapp..) “And why is that?” Tiedoll asked. Lenalee felt her hands freeze in her growing fear and anticipation. Reever sighed tiredly. “Leville has eyes and ears everywhere, now that he’s got CROWs positioned here permanently. Have you gotten your golems ‘upgraded’ yet?”

The two shook their heads. Reever nodded. “Good, neither have we. They’re starting with the Finders first.” At this time, Reever turned to Lenalee. “Our whole section knows. It’ll be safe to talk in  _ private _ with us.” Lenalee smiled. She, Reever, and Komui had recently started to inform all of Allen’s supporters in the Science Division of what Lenalee had planned if things kept going downhill.

“I was just about to invite Tiedoll in. He has some important things to say, and I think we may have come up with a theory about  _ that _ night.” Reever and Cache glanced at the older general. Reever nodded. “Alright. I’ll inform the others to meet tonight at the usual place and time.” He bowed slightly and ran off, heading to Komui’s new office. Cache, shifting on her feet, smiled and left. “What did he mean by that?” Tiedoll murmured to Lenalee while they continued on. Lenalee smiled up at him.

“Oh, nothing. Just make sure you’re in the Scorpion’s Cage by ten tonight.” And then Lenalee took control of her wheelchair and rolled away, leaving Tiedoll behind.

* * *

“Master, I found something quite disturbing.”

“Hmm?” A voice hummed through the breathing contraption in his neck. The man stood at the door, the light hitting his glasses. He cleared his throat and stepped closer to the chair. “What is it, Doctor?”

“W-Well, I’ve examined the blood from one of our hopefully new recruits, and I came across an anomaly.” The doctor played with the small vile in his hands absentmindedly. (He didn’t notice it cracking as the blood sloshed around.) “Not only does it have an unknown substance in it, but the genetics I saw are scarily similar to yours.”

“Oh?”

“..I believe we may have discovered a child of yours, Master.”

* * *

“Oi, let me go, you asshole!” The teen screeched, struggling in his bindings. Kurogiri’s mist flickered in his faint annoyance. Couldn’t Tomura have decided to keep him somewhere else  _ besides _ his workplace? His hands gently set a glass cup down and picked up another, cleaning it.

He opened another warp gate, and Dabi walked through. In his arms was you, the other child they had kidnapped. You were still unconscious; the Doctor must have given you more of that drug. Kurogiri warped another chair into the bar while the boy in the corner stopped. His red eyes stayed on you, tracking Dabi’s movements across the room to place you in the chair. He restrained you, tying you to the chair and placing heavy weights on your feet. Curiously, the teen stayed silent and continued to stare at you. His eyes flicked to Dabi, and then he snarled.

“Get the fuck away from her, you fucking piece of burnt trash!”

The man let out an amused huff and stalked away, leaving through the other doorway. The boy’s glare burned into Kurogiri, and with a sigh, he left the room as well.

The child didn’t make a peep after that, though Kurogiri noted that his struggling became stronger each time someone came close to you.

* * *

The doctor mumbled to himself, sifting through piles of paper and tools. He accidently knocked something over, and he cursed softly to himself at his clumsiness. He didn’t pick it up, however, for he had something more important than whatever that was missing.

He hissed as a jolt of pain laced up his arm, and he yanked his hand away from whatever had cut him. There, on his desk, was a broken and empty vial. The doctor gingerly picked the glass container up and peered at it.

It was the vial he held the blood in earlier.

* * *

You woke up slowly, groaning softly as a massive headache pounded into your skull. You flexed your fingers experimentally and you noted that your feet and hands were heavy. You cracked your eyes open slightly and peered down towards your limbs. However, your vision was so blurred, you could barely see anything. You frowned. That was not good.

That was when you heard the voices. You shut your eyes softly and tried to focus on the conversation around you.

“Hmm,” You cringed at the raspy voice. It was familiar, very familiar...Was it one of the Noahs? No, none of them have raspy voices. You frown deepened. Where were you? “Isn’t that strange? The Heroes are becoming the bad guys. Seems like they’re not dealing with this very well.” Wait, Heroes? Oh, you think you know where you are now. You let your eyes flutter back closed and the speaker continued on. “So much criticism, but everyone makes a mistake or two, right? It’s not like they’re supposed to be perfect. Modern day Heros sure have it rough. Don’t you think, Bakugou?” Oh, yeah. That was definitely Shigaraki. How did you get here again? 

..Wherever ‘here’ is, exactly. You briefly wondered why your explosive classmate wasn’t making a sound, but the sharp pounding in between your ears distracted you.

“Once a hero receives payment to protect people, they aren’t a real hero anymore,” Another voice replaced the raspy, disgusting voice. It sounded rough, but not as rough as your companion’s, “That’s what Stain’s actions taught us.” Oh, a Stain follower. This one sounded familiar as well!

“A hero in this current system only cares about money and glory, and since society buys into all those idiotic rules, anyone deemed a loser is shoved aside,” Shigaraki continued, and you tried to hide your cringe. You’re pretty sure they still think you’re out, but you didn’t want to give your current status away just yet, “So we want to pose some questions; what is a hero? What is justice? Is this society truly fair? Soon, everyone will be asking. That’s when we know we’ve won. And you like winning, don’t you?” You huffed out a laugh, and the room went silent. You shifted into a better position and peered up at Shigaraki, grinning slightly.

You blinked in order to clear the blurriness in your vision, and soon enough Shigaraki came into focus. You quickly noticed a peculiar light in his visible eye, but couldn’t place the emotion due to most of his face being covered. You glanced around the room and noticed both the mist man and the two villains from before, along with more you didn’t recognize. You turned back to Shigaraki and slouched in your seat. 

“Can ya please shut up?” You asked as politely and clear as you could, but you winced when your british slur appeared. You decided to roll with it. “One of yer men gave me a nasty headache, and all yer talking is making it worse.”

“She.” A girl to your right stated firmly, eyes glaring at you. You raised an eyebrow at her. “..I figured as much? It’s a phrase?” Her scowl deepened, and you shrugged her off to turn back to Shigaraki. Who was..glaring? At you? You couldn’t tell. “How are you awake?” You hummed, leaning your head back and shrugging slowly so as to not disturb your head. “Dunno, why? Am I not supposed to be ‘wake?” Someone snapped their fingers. “Kurogiri, put more of that drug in her.”

You watched the mist covered man move from behind the bar counter, and a syringe appeared in his hand. Something growled next to you, and you glanced over to see Bakugou struggling in his chains. He snarled at Kurogiri, and you returned your gaze back to the swift villain. Your eyes narrowed, grin widening slightly, and he hesitated for a split second. That was all you needed to raise your weighed down feet and kick him in the gut. He grunted and stumbled away, landing in a chair. His mist expanded, and he was gone. Your gut twisted, and you whipped your head around to see a misty hand coming straight for you with a syringe. With a small gasp, you grabbed the syringe with your mouth and ripped it out of his hand, throwing it to the floor and stomping on it. It broke, and Kurogiri was suddenly behind the counter once more.

You smirked. These weights weren’t as heavy as your boots once were, so you can still move your feet. 

Movement caught your eye, and you turned to see several of your captors had jerked to a fighting position. With a sigh, you turned back to the ringleader. “Are ya a fucking idiot?! I might have a bloody concussion, asshat! If ya wanted me ta join, shoving a needle in me is NOT the right way ta go!” You let out a huff and shook your head, wincing when it pounded harder. “Fuckin’ hell, didn’t yer parents ever teach ya manners?!” Someone growled, and you glanced at the tall man with the black coat. His ice blue eyes glared at you, and you were struck with the feeling that you’ve seen them before, multiple times. However, since you couldn’t place your finger on it, you shoved it aside and decided to ignore it.

Shigaraki cut into your angry, slurred rant and waved a hand towards the one with the familiar eyes. “Dabi, let the boy go.” You pouted. ‘Did he seriously just brush me off? Ass.’ The patchwork skinned guy dragged his annoyed glare to him. “What? You do know he’s going to fight as soon as he’s free?”

“It’s fine,” Shigaraki spread his arms as he sat back down, “We’re recruiting him, aren’t we? We should treat him like an equal. Besides, he’s smart. We outnumber him, and he has no idea what our quirks are while we do for his.” You hid a grin. ‘Like that’s going to stop him.’

Dabi glanced at Twice. “Hey Twice, you do it.” The man flinched and responded in a deep voice. “Sure thing!” His posture sagged a little and his voice pitched higher. “No way, you do it!”

“Just do it.”

“Aw man,” Twice replied and stalked over to Bakugou. You blinked in surprise as the angry teen stayed perfectly calm. “I do apologise for taking such forceful methods,” The man in the back said to the both of you as Twice undid the cuffs on Bakugou, “But please understand that we aren’t some unruly mob committing crimes without a third act in mind. We didn’t kidnap you as an accident, you know.”

“Well, no shit, Sherlock,” You replied boredly as you watched Twice. As he worked, you started on picking the lock from inside the clunky device trapping your hands with a little piece of metal you kept strapped to your wrist. You decided since the mall incident it was better to have something on you to help you out of tough situations, so you decided to keep a bracelet or watch on to keep your ace up your sleeve with you while out of the house. “Also, have ya any manners, Shigaraki? It’s always ladies first for politeness! It’s a really bad idea lettin’ Sparky boy over here go first-”

A loud boom interrupted your sentence as Twice finished unlocking the chains. He, along with some of the other villains were blown back by the force of the explosion emitted from your classmate. You sucked in a deep breath, pain exploding in your head. You allowed it to fade away before moving, watching the smoke clear from the room. You grinned manically. “-Especially when Sparky boy goes boom when pissed.” 

Bakugou growled loudly. “I’m done listening to your endless talking. Can you not get to the point, or do you just like to hear your own voice?” You giggled lightly, quite enjoying the fireworks now that they started. “Basically what you’re saying is; you want to cause some trouble and you want us to join you. Well  _ screw you _ .” He stood up from his crouched position and glared at the villains surrounding you two. “I like to win. I want to win just like All Might, and no matter what you have to offer me, that will never change.  _ Do you understand _ ?!”

You shoved off the bad memories creeping towards the forefront of your mind at his words, and continued to pick your locks. You finally realized the room was silent after Bakugou’s loud words came to an end, and you glanced up towards Shigaraki, gut twisting sharply. He stood perfectly still, head faced away and staring down at his hand mask. You shivered at the silence.

And then, you noticed the T.V. behind them. It was on, but the sound was so low, you wouldn’t have noticed it until it was quiet in the room. Your eyes widened when Aizawa’s face, clean shaven and slightly unfamiliar with his hair pulled back, appeared on the screen. He looked angry, and you briefly worried for the safety of whoever angered him. Then, he bowed to the cameras. 

_ “-As Bakugou Katsuki’s teacher, I take full responsibility for not taming his violent behavior. However, his actions at the Sports Festival were born from his deep seated convictions. He’s trying harder than anyone in his pursuit to become the top Hero. As for Walker, I know better than anyone in that school that she will not allow herself to be broken down by villains that easily. Her beliefs and will power will be much stronger than those of the League of Villains, despite how much they try to break her down.” _ Aizawa glanced up, leveling the reporter with a hard look.  _ “If the villains think they have a chance with them, then they are grossly mistaken. I can guarantee you that much.” _

_ “That doesn’t amount to real evidence, though. I didn’t ask you how you feel, I asked you if you had concrete information.” _

_ “We are doing our best with the intel we currently have available. I have no doubt the police will break this case very soon. We won’t rest until our missing students are returned to U.A.” _ Nezu cut in.

Bakugou laughed, and you could hear the giant smirk in his voice. “Did you hear the teachers?! They get me more than I thought! I’LL NEVER JOIN YOUR LEAGUE OF BASTARDS!” You watched his hands twitch violently. “WE MAY NOT BE AT CAMP, BUT I’M STILL ALLOWED TO FIGHT!” Your constraints clicked softly as you finally got it open, yet you pretended that you were still chained in place. The villains before you talked amongst themselves.

“He must’ve figured out he’s important to us. What a clever boy.” The one with the large club frowned.

“No,” Dabi replied, staring coolly at Bakugou, “He’s a fool.”

The girl behind the counter clapped her hands together. “Let me stab him!”

“A clever performer would have acted like we were winning him over. Now that he’s broken character, he’s finished.” You restrained a snort at the other masked villain and slowly pulled the cuffs off of you. All their attention was on Bakugou, so you doubt any of them would notice you.

“I only do whatever I want to, and I won’t even pretend otherwise. And I’m tired of being surrounded by a bunch of lame ass wannabes!” Bakugou snarled, and Shigaraki’s hand twitched. It then raised, and you tensed, getting ready to jump to action. “Don’t lay a finger on him, any of you.” He then bent down and gingerly picked up the severed hand that was his mask. He placed it on his face calmly, and you couldn’t fight down the dread rising from your gut. “This Hero is still a valuable piece. I wish you would have listened to what I had to say. I thought you and I could come to an understanding.”

“What, you think we’re the same? Not a chance!”

Shigaraki paused. “Then I have no choice. The Heroes said they’d continue their investigation of our group, so we don’t have time to stand here and talk. Master,” He turned to the T.V., which had been switched to another channel. You felt another chill go up your spine and your gut churned sharply at the title, “Lend me your power.”

You heard a voice come through the speakers, but as soon as it reached your ears, your mind plunged into dark water.

_-_ ** _”Let me out!”_** _You heard your voice echo throughout the empty land. You banged your fist against the Innocence encasing you, begging for some release from the painful ache in your legs._ ** _“LET ME OUT! I’M AN EXORCIST! I HAVE TO FIGHT! LET ME OUT!”_**

_ “That’s fine by me~.” You stopped, placing a palm on the crystal. Your uninjured eye widened, and you gasped in shock as your gut twisted so violently, you almost vomited. You heard this voice before, back when Allen was still new. You saw a faint purple blob float in front of you, and suddenly something sparked against the Innocence cage around you. _

_ You heard a thud, and familiar click of a tongue from outside your gilded cage. “It’s useless,” The Earl of Millenium chuckled at Kanda, “Try as you might, but that level of power won’t break through~.” A flash of light blinded you for a second, and you squeezed your eye shut in fear. When you opened it, you gasped. _

_ Your surroundings were dark, and large skulls lunged at you, their mouths opening to laugh loudly. They clamped tightly around your limbs, and you cried out in pain. Both of your eyes were open, and you instantly knew this was an illusion. However, your instinctual fear ignored logic and screamed at you to run, to hide, to get  _ **_away from whatever the hell that was suddenly in your face with sharp teeth and rolling eyes and laughing in sadistic joy-_ **

_ You screamed, eyes wide in terror and tears fell from them. You sobbed while the monster in front of you leaned closer, fully intending to bite you with its powerful jaws.  _

_ It continued to laugh at your terror. _

**_“Hehehehahahahaha~!”_ **

You knew what that voice was from. That was the voice of a madman, a monster that took pleasure in others’ pain and suffering. There was no doubt in your mind that the person on the other side of the screen would kill you in a second, but would drag it out just to see you die in the slowest, cruelest way to die. ~~(It was so similar to the Earl’s..)~~

Shigaraki moved, gesturing for one of his followers to come forward, and you let instinct take over for a second. By the time your mind caught up to your body, you were already in front of Shigaraki, aiming a kick to his chin. It landed, and he crashed into the wall behind him. You dropped your leg, letting it hit the ground heavily. The villains around you stared in shock, gazes glancing down to your still bound in heavy weights feet and back to your face. You grinned, mouth turning up into what felt like a maniacal smile. Kurogiri’s eyes widened in recognition, and you briefly let your thoughts linger on that before snapping it back to attention.

You stepped back, away from the cluster of villains and back towards your classmate, and your feet made loud, clunking noises every time you placed them on the wood floor. You met Bakugou’s gaze and shrugged. “What?” He turned back to Shigaraki, who had slowly gotten to his feet and was currently glaring at you. He stepped forward, and just as you prepared yourself to fight, there was a knock at the door. 

“Hello?” A faint voice wafted through the door, “I got a pizza delivery here!” 

It was silent for a moment, and then all hell broke loose when the wall caved in from All Might’s punch.

* * *

You coughed, sputtering. Your head spun in dizziness and pain, and you couldn’t tell if you were standing, swaying on your feet, or on the ground. You’re pretty sure it was one of the latter two. You coughed once more, trying to eject whatever had filled your mouth and lungs from within your body. The last of it finally came out, and you gasped for breath and peeled your eyes open.

Your vision was blurred again, and the sky was spinning. You could see silhouettes above you, and you squinted. Your Innocence sparked in your veins, shocking your numb body into action. With a jolt, you curled your fingers. Oh, you’re on the ground. Okay, at least you’re not in danger of falling and injuring your head even more. You flinched when someone yelled next to you, and hands appeared on your shoulders. With a groan, you pushed yourself up on your elbows, allowing the hands to help you up. You glanced up and saw familiar blond hair. “Bakugou..?” You murmured softly.

“Oi, can you stand?” He responded just as quietly. Your vision finally cleared and you noticed his angry glare directed to something over your shoulder. You turned to see the League of Villains clustered together around a man with what looked to be a dark helmet. “Maybe,” You finally replied, shifting away from the mysterious man. Your gut twisted, rolling continuously, “I think I might be sick.” You quickly placed a hand over your mouth. Bakugou stood back up and stepped in front of you.

“Ah, there you are.”

**_BOOM!_ **

You flinched and jumped, grabbing onto Bakugou as your anklets smoothly shifted into your boots. The ground rumbled, knocking some of the villains down as All Might suddenly appeared and crashed into the mystery man. Once you landed, you let your passenger go and stumbled, pain making you clutch your head. The wind whipped around you all while the stranger held off All Might, carrying the words both men yelled at each other easily.

“I’ll have you return my students, All for One!”

“Have you come to kill me a second time, All Might?” A second time..?

Something exploded, you weren’t sure what, and suddenly you were flying in the air. With a yelp, you twisted in midair so that you could land on your feet. You landed gently, despite the wind wanting to sweep you off your feet. The smoke blocked your view of them. “It took you long to find us,” You shuddered at the villain’s voice, “It’s only five kilometers from the bar to here, and yet it was at least thirty seconds after I sent the Nomu that you arrived. You’ve gotten weaker, All Might.”

“You’re one to talk, it’s kind of difficult to ignore that fancy life support mask you’ve got on. Aren’t overexerting yourself?” You flinched. If this was any other situation, you’d laugh at the scathing remarks All Might spit out at All for One. However, this was not that situation, so you stayed quiet. The smoke finally cleared, and you finally noticed something.

“I won’t repeat the mistake I made five years ago. You hear me?” All for One was still standing. You whistled softly. ‘He must be really strong if he can withstand that attack..’

“I will take Young Bakugou and Young Walker back,” All for One twitched, “And I will make sure you’re locked up for the rest of your sad life! Right along with your despicable League of Villains!” All Might shot towards the villain, and a whirlwind of air shot out of All for One’s raised arm. All Might flew back, crashing into an empty building. You flinched, stumbling back and falling on your back. You groaned as your head pounded harder, and you slowly sat back up.

You glanced up again, and this time you watched the League of Villains cornering Bakugou while All Might fought against the just as strong All for One. You jolted in shock. ‘Did I just pass out?! How long was I out for?!’

The wall nearest to you exploded as several of your classmates broke through. Izuku’s determined gaze met your dazed one, and you blinked. They were suddenly gone, rocketing through the air while a giant iceberg took their place. The League stopped. Kirishima turned to look down at you and Bakugou, and you climbed to your feet once more. He held out his hand with a desperate and scared expression.

“COME ON!”

**_BOOM!_ **

Bakugou rocketed towards them, knocking the League off their feet once more. You stumbled, but quickly caught your footing. You felt a large grin grow on your face as he grabbed onto Kirishima’s hand.

Ignoring your pounding head, you started running. Three steps, then five, then you jumped. The ground cracked under your feet, the wind whipping around you and slapping harshly against everything else in the vicinity. You let out a loud shriek of laughter as you rocketed past All for One. Fire burst from your boots and you shot forward again from your burst in speed. You easily reached your classmates’s sides and flew calmly next to them. Your gut twisted, and you turned to see Mount Lady blocking an attack from the villains.

“Go home..you dumb kids..”

You blinked, and the world shifted violently and darkened. Your friends landed in a rubble filled area, skidding to a halt. Your feet touched the ground about a yard away from them, and you stumbled when your momentum carried you off your feet. You fell, bouncing and rolling to a stop. 

Your vision went out as faint yells, growing fainter by the second, came closer.

It was daytime when you woke up in the hospital a second later.


	19. Chapter 18

“..How did you..?” The false sun in the sky shone brightly.

“We need to talk.” The swaying grass moved with the breeze the both of them knew wasn’t real.

“About what?” One leaned against a tall tree.

“You know what.” Behind one loomed a dark manor.

“Are you finally giving your body up?” One scoffed at the question.

“Absolutely not. But I’m tired of this game you insist on playing with me. I want something new.” Clouds dotted the sky, briefly blocking out the light.

“You’re just afraid I’ll win.” Birds flew through the air, yet no bird song echoed in the empty field.

“Yeah, I am. I am so, so afraid of losing everything I have right now.” One peered closer at a bird landing on a branch above.

“Then why not give up?” The bird twitched its paper head around, mouth opening as if whistling a merry tune, yet nothing came out.

“Because I’m a Walker, dammit, and I have too many things to do before I ever think about resting. Mana told me to keep walking, and I don’t have time to spare for you. Now are you going to listen to what I have to say or not?” Scratching from the tree caught both their attention, and a squirrel popped out of a hole.

“Hmm, alright.” The squirrel crawled down the trunk of the tree.

“I propose we make a compromise. I know you’re probably just as tired of this tug-of-war as I am, and I know neither of us are going to go down without a fight.” Another cloud drifted past, blocking the sun.

“Oh?” It passed silently with the wind.

“I don’t want to lose my body, and I also don’t want to lose my family. You want to take over my body in order to get to the Earl and kill him. It’s the Order’s goal as well. I say we share my body.” The wind picked up.

“..Share it?” One shivered.

“Yes. We’ll be able to see through each other’s eyes depending on who has the remote, and we can also take over any time we want within reason.” The sky darkened slightly, as if a storm was rolling in.

“..You do realize you had promised me full control of your body in our last life?” One supposed a storm could be rolling in, what with his companion’s mood souring.

“You two were good friends, I can tell, but I’m not the same Allen. You and I don’t have that same bond that you once did with him. I cannot take responsibility for something that happened decades ago that I don’t even remember. The Allen you once knew is gone, and so is whatever promises you made with him. He may have promised you full control, but I did not.” The fake world stilled, as if it was holding its breath.

“..You really don’t remember, huh?” It started turning again.

“No, I don’t. And for that, I am sorry.” It seemed a little brighter here.

“..May I have time to think about this?” The paper animals had sound now.

“Go ahead, but please be quick. I don’t think Kanda and I can hold off the Noah clan on our own for much longer. We’re going to need someone more experienced to evade them.” One’s chest felt lighter all of a sudden, and he placed a hand there.

“Alright, I’ve thought about it. It’s a deal. Pleasure doing business with ya, Allen Walker.” They shook hands and a flash of light consumed them, waking Allen up. Kanda stared at him from across the room, and he gave the taller male a nod. Kanda’s grip on his sword loosened, and he stalked out of the hotel room.

* * *

In England, a large white being shuddered, the powerful gems hidden in her snake-like body glowing. 

Somewhere in France, a small monkey chittered, glancing around in confusion atop it’s Accomodator’s shoulder. The woman placed a gentle hand on it’s head and quietly shushed it.

Somewhere in between space, something twitched in the darkness. It snarled, anger filling it.

Close by, a group of people paused, dropping anything in their hands. An old man peered up at a much younger looking one in wariness and slight confusion.

The echoes of a small girl floating in between reality and the wonderful world of slumber opened her eyes once more.

The demons plaguing the world paused in their viscous hunting, feeling their masters’ shock and growing anger and excitement.

The Heart of Innocence was finally twitching to life, and the Fourteenth responded in kind.

The long game was finally coming to an end.

* * *

You adjusted your grip on the small box, groaning a little as you carried it up to your new room in U.A.’s new dorms. You finally reached your dorm room and walked in, placing the box on your bed.

Hizashi and Aizawa were downstairs, the blond Hero helping you move the heavier boxes up while Aizawa checked the security system one last time. The doctors at the hospital had sternly given you orders to not do anything strenuous, even though your head wound was already healed. You glanced around the barren room. There was a bed, a desk, and your dresser from home, but other than that, there was little to no colors in your dorm room. You wrinkled your nose. ‘It’s about time to change that.’

“Phew, you have a lot of boxes.” Hizashi dropped the box on your bed, and you giggled. “Yeah, sorry about that. At least most of them were light..?”

“Why do you have so many boxes?! And where did you even find them?! I know for a fact that we did not have this many boxes stored away at our house!”

“A magician never reveals her tricks!” You say with a grin and start opening the boxes, “Now, where are my clothes?” Hizashi opened the box he just brought up with a pocket knife you didn’t know he had. You peered inside. Your shirts greeted you. With a smile, you thanked him and started putting them away in your dresser.

“..Hey, are you okay?” You turned back to Hizashi with a puzzled smile. “Yeah? Why wouldn’t I be?”

He frowned. “You were kidnapped by the League of Villains, being kidnapped is not a good thing! Especially if it was by villains like them!” Your smile softened, and you glanced to the ground. “They had me drugged for most of my stay there, so I don’t remember much. I do know I hadn’t received any more injuries since the camp, so they didn’t really do anything once they had me. And, I’ve been through a lot worse than whatever they put me through while I was out. Like, a lot worse,” You raised your gaze back to his worried one and smiled reassuringly, “Trust me, I’m fine.” Hizashi sighed, but nodded.

There was a knock on your doorframe, and you both glanced over to see Aizawa leaning against the wood. “Hey, we don’t have any food here, and I don’t feel like going back to the house just for that.” You shared a glance with Hizashi, and you felt a large grin slowly tug your lips up. You both turned back to Aizawa, and he narrowed his eyes.

“I swear to god, if you say-”

“MCDONALD’S!” Hizashi yelled, and you quickly covered your ears. Your head pounded painfully, but it quickly went away. You uncovered your ears and smiled as innocently as you could. “McDonald’s?”

“No.”

“Awe, what? Why not?”

“Because I said so.”

* * *

You watched with a smile from inside the dorm buildings as Bakugou came back with Kaminari. You had no idea what the angry teen did to Kaminari, but whatever he did, it caused Kaminari to short-circuit. You could hear the class laughing from your spot standing next to a window. The class’ mood lightened as Kaminari continued to make a fool of himself.

Bakugou stalked inside after shoving something in Kirishima’s chest, and you turned to him with a knowing smile. He paused when he caught sight of you. “Hah?! What the hell are you looking at?!”

“Oh nothing. Just a possible secret softy.” You say with a giggle. Bakugou growled, moving to stomp up to you, but something flickered in his eyes as they traveled up. Your eyebrow furrowed in your confusion, and he started stalking off again. Just as he reached the staircase, you called out to him. “Hey, you good? You’ve been acting a bit weird lately..” He turned and glared at you, but you could tell it was half hearted. “Says the one who had a head injury..” He muttered under his breath, and you hummed, cocking a hip to the side.

“Ah, so that’s what this is about. In case you’re worried, I’m fine. In fact, believe it or not, I’ve been fine since a little before we were abducted. My quirk healed me within the first day.”

“Then why the hell were you like that?!” You tilted your head to the side. “Like what? Exhausted? Dizzy? Loopy? I’m pretty sure all that came from the fact that I hadn’t eaten or drank anything for three days straight. Also, they did drug me for most of the time they had us. With that in mind, it’s not really surprising I passed out at the end of it.” Bakugou turned fully to you, glare hardening. “There is no way you’re completely fine after that shitshow.” You sighed, glancing down towards your dog.

“Well, no one can get out of a situation like that without a little trauma. It’s just not possible.” Bakugou growled and turned back to the stairs, intending to run up them. “Hey, if you ever need someone to talk to, you can talk to me if you want.”

“Fuck off, Pigtails.”

“No, seriously Bakugou,” You say a little louder as he starts up the stairs, “I have a service dog for a reason, you know. I’ve been through things much worse than that, so I know what it’s like. Out of everyone in this school, I’m most likely the one who will understand what you’re going through the most, and be able to help you get through it better.” Bakugou ignored you and kept running up the stairs. With a shrug, you turned back to the window to watch your classmates slowly make their way inside the dorm building.

* * *

Well, the girls and I have been talking, and-”

“We have a great idea!” Your ears perked up. Oh? You placed the batch of cookies on the counter with a contemplative hum. They weren’t burned, which was a good thing, but you had no idea how good they were going to be. You shrugged. You’ll try one when it cools down enough.

“Let’s go around and see who has the coolest room!” You shoved the next batch of cookies into the oven and quietly slipped into the common room. Mina spotted you and bounded over to you. “You’re going to participate, yeah?” You shrugged with a hum. “Uh, yeah sure. As long as you guys don’t touch anything. I got a lot of fragile things in there. Also, let me just finish something up in the kitchen, before you go in, okay?”

“Alrighty!” Mina spun around and wagged her finger around. “Let's start with...Midoriya!”

You quickly hid your grin behind your hand and gave him an apologetic glance as he screeched. The girls bolted to his room, with some of the guys behind them. The rest followed at a more relaxed pace. You padded over to Izuku and planted a hand on his shoulder before following the class.

Mina opened the door with gusto and everyone peered inside. You covered a snort with a cough as Izuku freaked out silently. “Oh, you’re such a fanboy, Deku!” Uraraka squealed as she looked at a poster of All Might. ‘Of course Izuku has an All Might themed room.’ 

Once Izuku had herded everyone out of his room, Mina and Hagakure looked around to their next victims, and set their sights on the room next to Izuku’s. Tokoyami, however, leaned against the doorway with crossed arms. “No way.”

You watched with great amusement as Mina and Hagakure managed to push him aside. You peeked inside, standing on your top toes to see over Izuku’s shoulder. He suddenly moved to the side, bending over something. You, curiosity compelling you to follow, leaned over him. ‘Wait..is that..?’

“A sword?! So cool!” Izuku said, and you hummed, nodding along.

“Get OUT!” You squealed as Tokoyami growled at you all, and you laughed as you ran out of his room. Aoyama was apparently next, seeing as he quickly opened his door and posed. “Aren’t you dazzled?” You whistled at the bright lights inside, and the class quickly moved on. “This is turning out to be so much fun! The last person on this floor is..” Uraraka’s smile froze when she realized who slept in the next room. Mineta peered out of his room with a crazed expression, gesturing inside his room. “Hey come on in, girls. I’ve got so much to show you.” The class went the other way to the elevator, and you kicked Mineta’s open door closed as you passed.

You ignored his creepy mutterings and quickly peered into Ojiro’s room. It was a little bland for your tastes, but to each their own you guess. Then it was Iida’s room, and you did a double take at the shelves full of glasses. Kaminari’s room is what you’d expected from him. Koda’s was kinda bare, except for the animal he had. You smiled as Uraraka and Mina fawned over the rabbit. 

(You managed to sneak it out of his room with little to no fuss from Koda, and from then on, the bunny sat in your arms.)

When you all reached the fourth floor, you slipped into the elevator to the kitchen, placing Koda’s bunny in his arms. You took out the next batch of cookies and put them down on the counter to cool, and you booked it up back to the others. They had just left Kirishima’s room, and were now heading over to Shoji’s room. You peered into his room, and scrunched your face up in distaste at the emptiness. In Sero’s room, you slipped into his hammock and stayed there until the class moved on. Next up was Todoroki’s room. You laughed at your classmates’ reaction to his completely different room. You smiled at the baking supplies in Sato’s room.

“Looks like we had the same idea, Sato.” You say as the other girls attacked his cake. The class turned to you as one. “Wait, you have a similar room, Aleah?!” Mina yelled, and you shrugged. “You’ll see. Let’s make my room last, okay?”

Mina pumped her hands up, her piece of cake almost flying off of her fork. “Ahhh, okay!”

“That’s it for the boys!” Hagakure jumped up and skipped out of Sato’s room and headed for the elevator. “Now it’s our time, ladies!” Jirou flinched. “Aw, man. That’s so many rooms, shouldn’t we turn in..?” She hesitantly asked, and Mina shook her head. “Come on, Jirou! Live a little!”

With a sigh, Jirou opened her door and hid her face in her embarrassment. You peered inside and whistled. “I didn’t know that you’re a musician!” You say as Kaminari and Aoyama are stabbed by Jirou’s earjacks. She shrugged and hid her face again. “Next is me!” Hagakure ran to her room and opened it “What do you think?” You clutched your chest at the sight of the adorable room and pretended to faint into Izuku’s arms. He jolted and fumbled to catch you. “A-Are you okay, Aleah?”

“I can’t. It’s too cute.”

Next was Mina’s and Uraraka’s room. You loved both of them, even though Uraraka’s was almost barren. You glanced back at Tsuyu’s room when the class skipped her room to head over to Momo’s room. You blinked at the huge bed for a moment. It looked comfortable, much more comfy than how your bed back at the Order was. You made a mental note to try it out later.

“Alright Aleah!” Mina pointed at you with a huge grin. “It’s time to see your room!” You sighed and nodded, heading to your room. You stopped at your door and glanced back, giving your classmates a firm look. “Okay, before I let you guys in, I have some rules. I have very fragile things in there, so I would appreciate it if you don’t touch anything without my permission. Another thing, Mineta if I see you go anywhere near my dresser like how you did in Hagakure’s room, I will kick you out and ban you forever,” You glared down at the small boy, “And I will do it quite literally.” When the purple haired menace rapidly nodded, you slowly opened your room door. "Also, don't mess with Aithusa or her stuff. I don't want to go hunting all over the dorm for certain toys."

The class peered into your room.

Your desk chair had been removed, and under the desk laid Aithusa’s bed and bowls. Paint and a few rocks sat on your desktop, waiting to be used. Leaning against one leg of your desk sat a rolled up yoga mat. Next to your desk was your dresser, where your bonsai tree stood proudly.

Above your bed, you had installed shelves to hold your most fragile possessions; glass figurines and snow globes. You had everything from animals to Pro Heroes from your home country, and a little All Might merch here and there. You had a small nightstand sitting next to your bed, where your keys stayed inside. A purple lava lamp sat innocently on the wooden top, the soft color lighting up the room. In front of your bed was your bookcase. Not only did it have multiple stacks of books sitting on the shelves, you also kept a few odd trinkets you found here in Japan there, including a broken dragon statue you plan on fixing.

Your closet had a mirror on attached to it, stickers and pictures littering the edges of the glass. Strung along the edges of your walls and your ceiling was strings of fairy lights, soft colors dancing on the walls. You had even attached some to your bookcase, letting it dangle like a curtain of beaded strings in front of the highest shelves.

Aithusa, who had been sleeping soundly on your bed, jolted awake as soon as your classmates started talking.

“Oh, wow! This is beautiful, Aleah!” Hagakure shifted from one place to the next to fully take in your room. You smiled. “Thank you.”

“This seems like the perfect spot for movie nights and a blanket fortress!” Mina proclaimed, planting her hands on her hips and nodding to herself. The others in your room agreed. Izuku peered up at your shelves above your bed from his spot in the doorway. “Are those glass figurines? And snow globes?” You quietly nodded. “So those are the fragile things you mentioned!” Kaminari stepped closer to your bed, scratching behind Aithusa’s ear absentmindedly. 

“They’re not the only ones in this room. I have a bunch of trinkets everywhere that will break easily.” You glanced around your classmates to find the little gremlin of the class, and when you found him, you raised an eyebrow. He was creeping towards your dresser, not close enough as he was in Hagakure’s room, but close enough for you to guess what he was doing. With silent footsteps, you stalked over to him and stopped, crossing your arms over your chest. Mineta froze when he noticed your shadow looming over him. “And just what do you think you’re doing, Mineta?” He whipped around to stare up at you in poorly concealed fear.

“O-Oh, I was just a-admiring your room!” You rose a disbelieving eyebrow. “Uh huh. And why are you so close to my dresser?” He swallowed nervously. “U-Uh, well..” With a sigh, you picked him up from the back of his shirt and carried him out of your room. Holding him out in front of you, you raised a leg and kicked Mineta down the hall with an annoyed huff. Iida immediately chastised you, arm chopping wildly as he yelled. “Walker! Do not kick your classmates down hallways like that!”

Izuku glanced at Mineta’s crumpled form in worry. “He’s gonna be okay, right..?” You nodded. “Yup. I didn’t kick him hard enough to leave permanent injuries, so he’ll be fine.” You turned back to your classmates. “So, what’s next?”

(Sato ended up winning the room contest with you, Todoroki, and Sero running up behind him. After that, you directed the class to the kitchen to munch on the cookies you baked earlier. You didn’t notice a few of your friends sneaking out for a bit. And you definitely didn’t notice the solemn air outside surrounding your friends.)

* * *

“So, the main reason why Allen is running, is because of this-this thing from the Church?” Cache said, staring at the general in shock. Tiedoll nodded. “Most likely.”

Lenalee fiddled with her sleeves and spoke quietly, “We think it’s an Innocence fragment.” The silence in the hidden training room turned storage was suffocating following her sentence, and Lenalee shifted uncomfortably under the weight of the stares. Komui broke the silence, crossing his arms and frowning at the ground. “Well, this makes this entire situation even more complicated.”

“And I’m guessing the current million dollar question is ‘how’?” Russel asked, body stiff, “How is it possible for a lone Innocence fragment to be independent?” Komui looked up and held each member of the Black Order currently present’s gazes with a hard look in his eyes. 

“Looks like we’re going to have to do what we do best; figure out how the hell this thing ticks before it finds either of the twins.”

* * *

Katsuki stared up at his ceiling while his classmates chatted downstairs. With a scowl, he turned to his side and closed his eyes.

-Can’t breath. Sludge. Cramped. Can’t move. Bright. Giggles. Limbs restrained. Explosions. Fighting. Can’t breath. Choking-! Dread. Fear. Help. Help. Help! HELP!-

Katsuki jolted, tearing his eyes open again as he sat up quickly. He slowly peered around the dark room, willing his heart to slow down. He’s Bakugou Katsuki, he won’t let that hold him back! ..At least, that’s what he tried telling himself. His hands shook when he glanced down at them. With his scowl deepening, Katsuki slammed a fist into the wall next to him and growled.

“Dammit..”

* * *

You gasped harshly, shooting up in your bed. Your heart pounded in your ears, Innocence shifting and sparking in your panic. It took you a few minutes to realize that there was a warm and wet tongue licking at your face soothingly, and another minute to realize why Aithusa was licking you.

Your vision was blurred, and your chest heaved in soft sobs, and you raised a shaking hand to wipe away your tears. Leaning against Aithusa, you let her warm body soothe you back into a peaceful sleep.

_-Machines. Talismans. Electricity. Hissing. Explosions. Fire. Bones breaking. Screams. Crying. Red eyes. Golden eyes. Death. **Dread. Gas. Pain. Make it stop. Make it stop! MAKE IT STOP, PLEASE!** -_

* * *

A man closed his laptop with a gloved hand before standing up from his couch, ignoring his right hand man. With a suffering sigh, he stalked out of the room and towards a lab. He opened the door and closed it with a click.

The little girl held back her whimpers as he picked up a scalpel. She knew better than to disturb him right now.

“I’m sorry for making you wait. Now, where were we, Eri?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHEEEEEE, WE'RE DONE WITH MY FAVORITE ARK!! and now, onto the next one!! and we finally had a scene with Neah, the Fourteenth Noah! we'll be seeing more of him soon, now that i finally included him! i hope you all liked this chapter, and have a wonderful day/night! you're all AWESOME! XP


	20. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fallin' by Why Don't We

Your alarm blared in your ear, and with a groan, you blindly groped for the loud object. You turned it off and rolled onto your back where you peered up at your ceiling. You frowned, blinking to clear the blurriness in your eyes before giving up and rubbing them. Aithusa yawned from her bed. You yawned.

You sat up and stumbled your way to your closet, where you kept your school uniform. With shaking hands, you gingerly pulled it out and laid it on your bed before stumbling over to your dresser. You pulled out a towel and made your way to the showers, grunting at the few of your classmates along the way. (You would have been curious and slightly jealous of how they were peppy so early, but you were going to fall asleep in the hallway if you didn't keep moving.)

A long, hot shower later, and you were standing in the common area with your food. Seeing as you had time to wake up, your hands could hold onto the tray with little to no difficulty. You plopped down next to Izuku, who looked abnormally bright eyed this early in the morning. “Ah, hey Aleah! Good morning!” You picked up some food and shoved it into your mouth, “Goo’ mor'ing..” You mumbled, slowly shoveling food into your mouth. Todoroki appeared, and so did Iida and Uraraka. The two boys were already dressed in their school uniforms. “Good morning guys!” Uraraka said as she placed her tray down in front of Izuku. You grunted in greeting and finished off your breakfast as the three boys around you replied. Iida turned to you and frowned.

“Walker, please don’t fall asleep at the table!”

“Working on it..”

* * *

“I believe I’ve said this already, but your main focus this summer is obtaining your Provisional Hero licenses.” You played with one of your pigtails, intertwining your fingers through the locks of hair. Aizawa continued his little speech. “Do not take this lightly, a Hero’s license means that you’re responsible for human lives,” That’s nothing new to you, “You can imagine the exam to receive one is very difficult; only fifty percent of students pass the test required for these permits each year. In order to prepare, today you’ll concentrate on something new.” The door opened, and three of your teachers walked in. “Two ultimate moves.”

“Ultimate moves?!” Several of your classmates started yelling in excitement, and you licked your lips nervously. Uh oh. You shifted in your seat, glancing down at your legs. Your Innocence already had a set of attacks to be used on enemies, and making a brand new one up is impossible. Though, you supposed _those_ could be considered an ultimate move.

_-The Level 3 punched you in the jaw one last time, and you fell back. You allowed yourself to fall towards the dark ocean below. Opening your eyes, you peered up at the Akuma. The chains surrounding you, the ones the Akuma used to weigh you down with its ability, clinked loudly. (It reminded you of a cage.)_

_‘Now.’_

_“Waltz: Mist Wind.” You moved your legs slightly, and a powerful whirlwind surrounded you. The air current caught your body and whisked you upwards, bringing you above the Level 3. Your boots morphed, and you held back the hiss of pain the transformation brought to your tired legs. Metal screeched against metal, and you gritted your teeth while the pain in your legs intensified._

_The Akuma smoothly cut through your attack. You could see the exact moment it realized you were not below it, but above. It turned to look at you, and the Akuma tensed at the sight of your boots._

_“Falling Footsteps: Iron Shackles.”-_

_-You watched as Allen pulled the girl out, gasping when the goop surrounding Suman reached out and wrapped around his body. “Allen!” You screeched and reached out a hand. Allen forced the back of the girl’s shirt into yours. “Take her!” He gasped out while the goop submerged him fully. You took the little girl into your arms. “Allen!”_

_You blinked while the roaring wind around you finally stopped. You glanced down at the girl in your arms when you didn’t feel any little puffs of air on your neck. ‘She’s stopped breathing!’_

_The Fallen One’s body jolted as the Akuma continued their attack on it. You curled tighter around the girl and glanced back to the horde of Akuma. ‘Crap! I can’t help her here! I’ll have to land somewhere to treat her. But..Allen!’ You glanced back towards the hole where the heart should have been. You bit your lip and closed your eyes, deftly standing up. You let yourself fall over the edge of the protrusion around Suman. The wind roared in your ears, whipping your hair around._

_‘Where can I take her that’s safe?’ You thought as you glanced towards the ocean. A town had planted itself there at some point, and ships of different sizes were docked there currently. With a determined gaze, you flipped until your feet were facing the ground. ‘Hold on Allen!’ You thought and felt a rush of power gather in your boots._

_“Acoustic Kick Technique: Sound Shackles!”-_

“Walker?” Your friend shook your shoulder, and you jumped, turning to look at Todoroki. He leaned over you, face scrunching up in concern. You turned to your classmates to see them heading out the door with their costumes in hand. You turned back to Todoroki when he continued. “Are you coming?” You smiled and nodded, following him towards the wall where your Hero suits resided in. You grabbed yours and followed Todoroki to the changing rooms, where you both changed into your suits as quickly as possible. You followed the herd of students to what looked like a large warehouse outside.

“Gym GAMMA, also known at the academy as the ‘Training Dining Land’, or TDL.” Aizawa turned back to your class while Cemontoss kneeled and placed his large hands down on the ground. “This facility was my idea,” He said as a small tower of rocks rose up in front of him, “We can prepare unique terrain and obstacles for each student here. Here, you will learn to serve up justice, hence the name.” Kaminari muttered to himself. “That’s pretty cool..” And then, Iida raised his hand so fast, you jumped back, your anklets shifting.

“Please allow me a question! What is the advantage of having ultimate moves for our Provisional Exam? May we know your reasoning?” You tilted your head to the side. That wasn’t exactly something you wondered about, but since it was pointed out, you couldn’t help but wonder as well. “That’s two questions. Calm down.” You snorted at Aizawa’s reply, and he ignored you to continue. “The job of a Hero is to save people from all sorts of dangers. Crime, accidents, and natural or man made disasters. Of course, the licencing exam analyzes how well you’re able to deal with such things. 

“It won’t just be fighting, your ability to gather information and make quick decisions will be judged. In addition to how well you communicate, cooperate, and lead others. Every year, a new test is used to evaluate these qualities.” Midnight stepped closer to the class.

“One thing is especially important. If you want to be a Pro Hero, you must be able to prevail in battle. If you’re prepared, you don’t have to worry, and those of you with an ultimate move will have stronger results.” You rubbed your face with your hands and frowned. If Falling Footsteps won’t work, how the hell can you fake an ultimate move?! You jolted as you realized yet again that you had stopped paying attention to your teachers. You snapped your head up while Cemontoss started manipulating the cement around you into a large structure.

“The training camp was interrupted, but the practice you did get in to develop your quirks was part of the process needed to create these defining abilities.” Aizawa said to the class. “Now that you’re caught up, you’ll be working hard to develop powerful moves of your own for the next ten days or so. This is how you’ll spend the remainder of your summer vacation.” You stared up at the large towers of rock, each one with an Ectoplasm clone. “Prepare for intensive training. In addition, you should think about how you can improve your costumes, especially now that you have a better understanding of your quirks.” Aizawa’s stare hardened. “I expect each of you to go Plus Ultra. Do you have it in you?”

“YES SIR!”

“I am _so_ charged up for this!” Kaminari yelled, and you let out a laugh at his probable unintended pun.

Once everyone had started on their own tower, you approached Aizawa. He turned to you and raised an eyebrow. “Yes?” You rubbed your right wrist. “So, you know how my ‘quirk’ isn’t really my quirk?” You asked quietly, and he shuffled closer. “Yes..?”

“Innocence can’t create new moves. I’m not sure what to do for this..” Aizawa frowned. “What do you have available?” You bit your lip. “W-Well, I have my Waltzes, as you know. I’m still working on them. And I also have another thing, it’s called Falling Footsteps: Iron Shackles. I’ve only used it a few times in my life, and it’s extremely hard to use..” Aizawa turned to look at your other classmates and the clones assisting them. After a minute, he responded to you. “We’ll work on this ‘Falling Footsteps’ of yours later. For now, see if you can incorporate your other moves in your regular fighting style.” With that, he pushed you towards the last tower of rock, and upon activating your Innocence, you hesitantly jumped up onto your rock tower. A clone greeted you.

“Let’s get started. Do you have any ideas?” You paused and shook your head. “Aizawa said to try to incorporate my Waltzes into my fighting style, but I already do that..” The clone nodded. “Well, how about speed? How fast can you go normally?” You frowned and tapped a finger against your lips. “I’ve never actually tried to test that. I know I can go up to seventy miles an hour without any issue, but above that, I start having trouble breathing. Oh, I uh..also 'developed' a technique to help me go faster, but again, same problem.”

“Hmm, have you thought about adding something to help you breathe before?” You shook your head slowly. “No..I have not. I’ve never had the need to before..I might actually be able to go faster once I have something helping me breathe.” You laughed and hit the side of your head. “I can’t believe I’ve never thought about that before!” 

“Well,” The clone stepped back, “Let’s work on your other attacks for now. I’ve heard you’re having trouble creating your ‘Waltzes’. Is that correct?” You nodded. “For most of them, yeah. I’ve had Endeavor give me pointers before, and it’s helped some, but for my strongest Waltz, it doesn’t do much.”

“And what is that?” You hummed and rocked on your heels. “It’s the one involving water. My main trouble with that is that water hates being commanded. It likes to go against every move I make with it.” The clone hummed, nodding once again. “I see. Work on the ones that you can do, and we’ll work on that particular ‘Waltz’ later.”

“Yes sir.”

* * *

You skipped along Uraraka and Iida as you all made your way to the Development Studio, humming a tune. You spotted Izuku, who was standing in front of the doors leading to your destination.

“Oh, hey there, Deku!” Uraraka called. “I was wondering where you were! You here for costume improvements, too?” She ran up to him just as Izuku reached a hand out to the door. He jumped, instinctively opening the door as he turned to smile at you all. “Oh, Urara-”

**Boom!**

You froze as an explosion from the other side of the door knocked him off his feet, and he fell to the floor with a thud. The smoke, flowing out of the room, engulfed him quickly. Loud clunks of metal pieces hitting the hard floor echoed down the hall, and you were immediately reminded of the Science Division back at H.Q.

_-Komui was always making robots to help out in the building, and more often than not, the projects ended up with the Komurins going crazy and wrecking the place. There was one time, when he first started making them, that the robot had somehow consumed the coffee you had originally made for the overworked scientists._

_As soon as it was done, it reached for you and tried to put you in surgery to ‘improve’ your body. Lenale was NOT happy. At some point, Komui had convinced it to switch targets to your brother, and you spent the rest of the day in a chemical induced coma. It had been swiftly dealt with when you woke up to see it literally eat Allen.-_

Someone started groaning in pain, and a teacher leaned out of the doorway, coughing. “You know, you shouldn’t try to mix everything you can find in the lab together like that!” The person switched from groaning in pain to giggling, and you finally realized that someone had landed on Izuku. “Failure is the mother of invention, Mr. Powerloader! Thomas Edison said something like that once.” Oh no. You can already see the scientists at home reacting to her. Oh, they would absolutely LOVE her. You briefly wondered why her voice sounded so familiar..

You took a step back as the smoke cleared and Powerloader scolded the student. You blinked when you realized the position Hatsume landed in on Izuku. You slapped a hand over your mouth to cover the sudden spew of giggles. While you recovered, Hatsume had managed to untangle herself from Izuku, and both of them stood up. At some point, Iida had carried you inside the studio, and you finally managed to stop your laughter. You straightened up, clearing your throat a few times to help sober you up. Once you spotted the inside of the room, you whistled. 

“Woah,” Izuku glanced around with a huge smile, “This looks like a top secret lab!” You nodded. “Now, hand over your instructions please. They should have been in the case your costume was delivered in.” You quickly hand it over after searching for it and start poking around the room in curiosity.

“Ah, well..I was wondering if there was a way to reduce the strain on the ligaments in my arms.” Izuku said, and you glanced over to him. “Is that hard, or possible?” Powerloader turned away to go through his computer. “Hmm, lets see, Midoriya. You mainly fight with your fists and your fingers. In that case, I should be able to do something for you pretty fast.” You stopped, staring down at his chest. Hatsume hanged off of him from behind, patting his chest. You slowly brought a hand to your mouth while he trembled in shock. “Yes, yes, I see the problem.” She continued her ministrations to Izuku, and you quickly jogged over to pull her off. However, she slipped out of your reach and forced Izuku into something that reminded you of Iron Man.

As soon as Hatsume started it up, Izuku’s body started twisting. At first he was impressed, but then his face melted into horror and pain. She stopped the machine and you helped Izuku out of it. You stopped paying attention to her, and immediately regretted it as soon as you turned back around. Some sort of rocket boosters had been strapped to Iida’s arms, and you watched in growing horror and amusement as Hatsume started it up. He shot up to the ceiling and stayed there until the boosters were turned off.

He fell to the floor, and you winced at the thud. You looked over the tables to glance worryingly over his body. “..Are you okay, Iida?”

“..My quirk is in my _legs_ , you madwoman.” He said through gritted teeth. Hatsume giggled in response. “Yeah, I know! But you don’t understand! Come on, it’s so brilliant! If you’re wanting to cool down your _legs_ , then why don’t you just run with your arms instead?!” Powerloader yelled at her, but your attention had shifted onto Izuku.

He had stopped moving, and a shocked look was plastered on his face. You hopped over at him and nudged him. “Izuku..?” You say quietly, and he snapped out of whatever trance he was in.

“Sorry guys,” Powerloader’s voice caught both of your attention, and you looked over at him, “I’m trying to get her to look past her own devices.”

“I’m not sure that will ever happen..”

“Same..”

“But you know,” Powerloader looked at Hatsume, “If you all are aspiring to be Heroes, then you should treasure your relationship with her. You’ll need her once you’ve been made Pros. Look at the corner.” You did so, and blinked in shock. There was a huge pile of machines claiming the corner as its home. “That pile of junk? Those are all the support items Hatsume’s made since the start of the school year.” You whistled in awe. “She’s always inventing, even when school’s not in session. I’ve seen many Support course students in my career, but I tell you, this girl is something special.”

“I can tell.” You muttered. You finally see how Hatsume could send the Science Division on a run for their money. “She made all of this in such a short time?” Your friends stepped closer at the pile. “That’s nuts..”

“‘Common sense is a collective of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.’ That’s something Einstein said. That girl is unafraid of failure, constantly thinking of new ideas and trying them out. Innovators are people who don’t feel chained down by existing concepts.” Izuku gasped, and you glanced at him. He raised a hand to scratch at his head, and then another one joined it the longer he thought.

Realization and understanding slowly dawned in his gaze, and you couldn’t force yourself to stop whatever fast moving train of thought he was on. You kinda wanted to see what would happen. Finally, he smiled so bright you swore the sun slipped into the room for a second. His gaze zeroed in on Iida.

“Iida!” The taller teen turned around, and Izuku walked closer to him. He stepped so close in his excitement that Iida had to step back a little. Izuku, of course, followed for a second. You slowly stepped closer to him. “Please, there’s so much I want you to teach me!”

“Uh, wait, what are you talking about? You want my help with your training? We haven’t made any progress on our costumes yet!” Izuku leaned away, quickly turning to you. “Oh, that’s right! Oh, and I’m also going to need your help too, Aleah!” You hesitantly nodded, thoroughly confused. “Sure..?”

“Woah,” Uraraka cut in with a smile, “Your face totally just lit up right now!” Izuku scratched his cheek. “I was just realizing something..” You intertwined your fingers together and placed your hands on his shoulder, leaning your cheek against them. His face lit up in red. “Penny for your thoughts?”

“I-I’ll tell you later. Oh, I never asked!” Izuku turned to Uraraka. “Are you guys changing a part of your costumes as well?” You smiled. “Yup! I just need a little something!”

Uraraka nodded. “A little. I don’t want to feel sick anymore.” Hatsume appeared behind her, holding a giant barrel resembling a bomb. Your small group backed away, and then smoke started leaking out of the wood. Your gut twisted, and you dodged to the side while it exploded.

“Aha, work in progress!”

* * *

Four days later, and you were zipping around the room sporting your new mask and goggles. The black goggles were designed to both keep the air and bugs out of your eyes and help you see much farther. It also worked as a pair of sunglasses, blocking out some of the harsh sunlight. Your mask was similar in design to Izuku’s mouth guard, yet that was where the similarities ended.

It fit over your jaw snugly, yet it had enough room for you to talk. There was a speaker like film over your mouth and nose, which allowed air to filter into your mask. You didn’t know how exactly it did this, but it then continuously provided fresh air to you at a speed you could breathe it in at. On either side of your jaw were two smaller circles that filtered out exhaled air. The mask itself was a dark gray, matching your gloves. You had also added a belt with waterproof bags attached to it. They were meant to hold first aid,and there was an empty space somewhere for Pandora to be stored in when you didn’t need it.

You landed on your rock tower and slid them off of your face, smiling up at the clone for the day. “It works!” You cried in your excitement. You jumped up and down, giggling. “Oh my god, it works!”

“That’s good. Let’s go out and-”

**Crack! Boom!**

“Hey, WATCH OUT!”

You turned to see a large chunk of rock falling towards All Might, and before you could move, a flash of green lightning zipped towards it. Izuku flipped around, kicking it hard and destroying it. You blinked while he landed, skidding to a halt. A large smile grew on your face, and pride swelled up inside you. You swung your fists in the air and started cheering loudly. “GO IZUKU!”

As the class jogged over to All Might to check up on him, you jumped off of your tower and landed quietly next to Izuku. You tackled him in a hug, making him stumble a bit. “Oh, that was epic! You did it perfectly!” He blushed and patted your arms. You leaned away a bit. “Though, you do need a little more practice. We’re going to have to work more on that.” He nodded.

“Dude, Midoriya what was that?” Kaminari stopped nearby with a huge grin, Kirishima following him. “You swooped in and wasted that rock!”

“I always thought you were more of a puncher!”

“I am! Or, I was,” Izuku gently pushed you off and you slid off of him. “It’s these new soles! Hatsume suggested them and I really think they’ll really up my game!” You flicked your finger against the hard metal. You smiled and leaned back. “Plus, Iida and Aleah have been showing me how to use my body better, so my fighting style has changed! I’ve only just figured out what direction to go in; I still have a lot of work to do, nothing I’d call an ultimate move yet.” You scoffed and bumped a fist into Izuku’s shoulder before walking off. You followed the clone helping you for the day outside to finally test out your speed with your new equipment.

(Later on, when walking back with your normal group of friends, you breathed a sigh of relief when you were informed that you just missed Monoma’s crazy ramblings.)

* * *

You laid down on the floor as Mina groaned from her spot on the couch. You tiredly munch on a snack as the girls conversed around you, barely paying any attention to their conversation. You took out your phone and switched to the news, trying to see if you can find any Akuma sightings recently. So far, only Hero related events popped up on your feed.

You frowned and placed your phone down in front of you, turning it off.

Something was off for some reason, yet you couldn’t place your finger on it. Rubbing your face, you closed your eyes. ‘Okay, Akuma have been pretty silent recently. They must have gotten the news about me finally. So, I should keep an eye out for any attacks; they do tend to become irrational when they are forced into hiding. School is fine, besides the League of Villains being silent for some reason. That’s both relieving and terrifying.’ You hummed, placing another cracker in your mouth. ‘Allen has been silent- _I haven’t talked to Allen in a few weeks_.’ You opened your eyes and ran your fingers through your hair. ‘Crap, I haven’t checked up on him yet!’

You moved to get up, but stopped when you saw Uraraka floating near the ceiling. “Uh..?” The other girls looked at you, and you finally realized Mina had been talking. You glanced back up at your friend. “What’s going on?”

“Oh, nothing!” Hagakure replied, and Mina jumped in. “Our dear Uraraka has a crush!” Your face must have done something, for they all leaned closer to you. You shifted away from their predatory gazes uneasily. “What about you Aleah?” Mina grinned widely. “Do you have a crush?” You suddenly pushed yourself to your feet swiftly, backing away. “Hookay, I’m leaving. See ya later!” You waved to them and walked outside, Pandora following you closely. You frowned.

'What were they even talking about..?'

* * *

Sighing, you jumped off of the bus, holding your case tightly. Your classmates stared up at the building nervously, and you yawned. Aizawa turned to you all.

"If you can pass this test and get your Provisional licences, then you novice eggs will hatch into chicks. You'll be semi pros." You shifted on your heels tiredly. "I expect your best." You stretched slightly as some of your classmates excitedly talked. Kirishima grinned at the rest of the class. "Let's call out the usual you guys! On my mark! Go plus-" 

"ULTRA!" You screeched in your panic, jumping a foot to the side. You almost dropped your box, and you stumbled to regain your footing. Behind Kirishima stood a taller boy. If it weren't for the fact that he was wearing a school uniform, you would have mistaken him for an adult if you didn't look closely.

"You know, it's pretty rude to barge into other people's huddles like that, Inasa." Another teen said, and Inasa's face twisted slightly. "What?! Pardon me! I am-" He slammed his arms into his body, legs snapping together, "So-" He bowed so low, his forehead slammed into the cement. "Very EXTREMELY SORRY!" You stepped back from him as Kaminari yelled something you didn’t quite catch. You glanced over the teen’s uniform, gaze flicking to his companions. It looked familiar,like you’ve seen it before, yet you couldn’t place your finger on it. Your eyes widened when your gut twisted upon landing on the pretty girl in the stranger’s group. You frowned, grip tightening slightly on your box.

“Hey, look at their uniforms!” Jirou said quietly. “They’re from that famous school on the other side of Japan..” Sero added, voice quiet. You shifted uncomfortably as Bakugou muttered. “U.A. in the east, Shiketsu in the west.” The teen stood up with a giant grin. “I wanted to say it at least once! ‘Plus Ultra’! See, I really love U.A. High school! I’m extremely honored to compete against such incredible students! I’M SO LOOKING FORWARD TO IT!” You flinched at the blood dripping down Inasa’s face. You blinked. ‘Wait, isn’t he..?’

The girl peered up at his face as another boy walked away. “Let’s go.” Aizawa watched them go with an expression you couldn’t place. “Yoarashi Inasa..”

‘Oh yeah, that’s him.’

You turned to look at your guardian. “Do you know him?”

“Indeed. He’s strong.” Of course he is. “He’s the same year as you are, and received the second highest scores for students admitted through recommendations. But for some unknown reason, he turned down his acceptance to U.A. and went to Shiketsu.” You smiled. You knew him! He was the guy who got second place in that weird race before the school year!

You scratched your cheek as you watched the Shiketsu students walk away, gaze lingering on the girl. Your gut churned, and your frown deepened. You’re going to have to make sure to stay away from her.

“Eraser?! I know that scowl anywhere!” You jumped again and whipped your head around to see a woman cheerily striding towards Aizawa. “I saw you on T.V. and at the Sports festival, but it’s been a while since we were this close in person!” When she finally reached his side, she grinned widely. “Let’s get married!”  
  
“No.” You felt a smile tug at your lips. What was going on here? The woman laughed. “You’re a real laugh riot, buddy!”

“As usual, you’re impossible, Joke.” Even without looking at him, you could feel Izuku’s face light up as realization hit him. You turned to watch him as he quickly fanboyed over her. You hummed at the sudden info dump about her, fighting back your growing grin. ‘Oh, this should be fun.’

“Come on, imagine it!” Miss Joke continued. “If I was your wife, you’d have a future of constant laughter!” Aizawa’s scowl deepened. “That sounds like an actual nightmare.” You started laughing, arms wrapping around your middle. You stumbled, falling into Todoroki. He grabbed your arm and pulled you into a standing position, keeping you steady as you recovered. 

“So Joke, if you’re here, then that must mean..”

“That’s right!” Miss Joke’s smile widened, and she glanced behind her. “Over here everyone! This is U.A.!” You finally managed to reign in your laughter and glanced up when her students walked up to your class. A teen appeared in your line of vision, grabbing onto Izuku’s hands and talking. “Hey! I’m Shindo! Seems like U.A. has a lot of trouble this year, must’ve been tough for you!” He popped over to Kaminari, barely giving Izuku any time to respond, and continued. “But even so, you’re all still aiming to become Pro Heroes despite those hardships!” Shindo turned to Jirou. “It’s wonderful!” Your smile faltered, eyes narrowing slightly. 

He finally turned to you and Bakugou, and you stepped back. “Bakugou, Walker! It must have been hard for you guys, what with that whole kidnapping incident!” You gave him the most unimpressed smile you could manage, yet he completely ignored it and steamrolled ahead. “You both have an especially strong will, don’t you?” He held out a hand to you both with a smile. “Today I’m gonna do my best to learn from you, I really hope you don’t mind!” Why did you get the feeling he was looking down on you all?

Bakugou slapped his hand away with a scowl. “Stop pretending. What you say doesn’t match the look in your eyes.” You let your smile slip off into a frown as Shindo’s smile widened. Kirishima scolded Bakugou before apologizing to the older student. “It’s fine! It proves how tough his heart is!” Both you and Bakugou scoffed at that. Shindo glanced at you with slight surprise, yet he hid it away surprisingly well. Your lips tugged up. ‘Hmm, another mask. It’s not as good as Allen’s, though.’

“Hey,” You snapped your attention to Aizawa, “Get your costumes and head to orientation. There’s no time to waste.” He walked away.

“YES SIR!”

You stretched with a groan, decked out in your Hero suit. Your classmates glanced around in awe at the amount of students in the large room. Suddenly, someone groaned loudly, and it took you a minute to realize that it was someone speaking into a microphone.

 **_“Okay then. Let’s do this exam thing. I’m from, uh, the Hero’s Public Safety Commission. Name’s Mara. My circadian rhythm is so screwed up…”_ ** You tilted your head to the side. **_“I’ve been swamped lately, and I haven’t gotten much rest. We’re too short staffed, I’m so tired..With that confession, I’ll now begin orientation.”_ ** You snorted, leaning closer to Izuku.

“Someone needs to give him a break..” Izuku nodded.

 **_“So, about the content of this licence thing. Basically, one thousand, five hundred and forty examinees compete in all free for all exercise, or whatever we’re calling it this year.”_ ** The man’s head bobbed. **_“See, we got a lot of Pros around, and since Stain was arrested, many people have expressed doubts about the status of Heroes in society.”_ ** You frowned at the reminder of the villain. **_“But, when you really think about it, getting paid makes sense. If you’re going to risk your life to save someone, why shouldn’t you ask for a reward, huh? That’s just the way the world works. God I could use a coffee…”_ **You fidgeted with your right wrist, your Innocence sparking in your veins. You bounced on the balls of your feet.

 **_“Anyway, whether they’re in it for compensation or out of a sense of duty, we’ve got too many Heroes working together in the streets these days to keep villains at bay.”_ ** Your gut twisted slightly. You did not like the sound of that. **_“Honestly, the time between when an incident begins and when it resolves is ridiculously short. You are all here trying to receive your Provisional licences, so you’ll be swept up in this tiresome mess yourselves pretty soon. Those of you who don’t have the speed, frankly, just won’t cut it. Which is why that’s what you’ll be tested on. The first hundred students to fulfill the requirements will pass today.”_ **

As the students around you started panicking, you felt excitement flow through you, each wave stronger than the last. Your Innocence spun around your ankles and sparked dangerously in your veins. You let an excited grin take over your features, and you hopped from one foot to the other as the man stood up. 

**_“Well, the world could be pretty crappy. I suppose I should say something about luck. So anyways, here are the basic rules. The examinee will put three of these targets on his or her body. They can go anywhere you want as long as it’s an exposed area, so no soles of the feet or armpits. Each of you will also have six of these balls. The targets are programmed to light up whenever they are touched by a ball. If all three targets light up, you’re out. Oh, and the person who lights up your third target will get credit for your defeat. You get through this round by taking down two people, got it? Good._ **

**_“What else? Um, I guess we’ll start passing the targets and balls. Then you’ll have a few minutes to get situated after we open.”_ ** You were quickly handed your items and you swiftly placed the targets on your body. Your gut tugged, and you immediately activated your boots just as the ceiling split apart with loud, mechanical sounds. The walls fell down to reveal an arena filled with different landscapes.

Your grin widened, and all hell broke loose when the students around you realized they needed to get moving. Izuku turned to your classmates and yelled above the thundering sounds of feet pounding against the ground.

“Everyone, stay close together, we’ll fight them as a group!”

‘Here we go!’

* * *

“But really, you know what’s about to happen down there. And yet, you didn’t mention a thing to your class.” Emi leaned her face against her hand, smirking. “Every year the test is different, but one thing is always the same. It’s kinda like a tradition during the licencing exam. Most of the students who compete in the Provisional exam have pretty equal footing, except for one school. U.A. comes in at a severe disadvantage. Because the top school’s Sports festival is broadcasted across the country, showing off not just your students' quirks but their weaknesses and fighting styles, too.”

She glanced over at Eraserhead. “Kinda funny, isn’t it?”

A horn sounded. **_“The first test will now begin.”_ **

“If you like your class this year, then you should have warned your students about all this.” Emi leaned against her knees. “We’ve seen it time and time again in this exam. U.A. is immediately crushed.”

* * *

“I saw you on T.V.! That power of yours also destroys your body! Can’t say I’m above taking advantage of that!” The balls came flying forward, coming straight towards Izuku and his classmates. Izuku started running. 

‘ _One for All_ ; Full Cowling!’ He jumped and swung a leg out. A ball landed on it, and he kicked it away. ‘Shoot style!’ The wind from his attack caused most of the balls to go flying in the other direction.

* * *

“So, you think we’ll be taken out? I don’t really see a reason why I should’ve warned them. I doubt anything would have changed if I had.” Eraserhead stared down at the arena. “They’re still going to have to overcome this either way.”

Emi glanced over at him. “Real Heroes could turn this situation around. Besides, if they become Pros, they’ll face villains who already know their quirks. Perhaps at U.A., we look a little further ahead than other schools.”

* * *

You let out a slight giggle as your classmates blocked the balls from hitting them. You leaned a cheek against your hand and watched your opponents. You were crouching a little away from them, hidden up high on a rock tower.

The students from Miss Joke’s school briefly stopped after Mina destroyed the hardened balls. ‘Hmm, maybe I should cut in?’

Suddenly, Shindo slammed his hands into the ground, and your gut twisted. You stood up and jumped. ‘Guess that answers that.’ You opened your mouth when you came near your huddled classmates. “Out of the way!”

“Maximum force!”

Your classmates backed off as you landed with a grunt, earth cracking beneath you. “Waltz: Terre Wind!”

“Tremoring Earth!”

The ground shook violently, the earth cracking before breaking apart. However, your boots quickly sucked the rock towards you. You spun onto your hands and lashed both your legs out, giving an extra kick behind your attack. The rock and mud twisted into an even bigger tornado than your normal ones and shot towards your opponents. Just as they had broken up your classmates with one attack, you had done the same to them.

You heard them yelling as you jumped away. 

“What the-I thought she only had wind by her side!”

“She used my attack for her own! That sly little-”

You twisted around and kicked. “Waltz: Mist Wind!” A few more tornados emerged, scattering them even more. You smiled and landed. ‘Now that my classmates have a better chance, I’m gonna take my exit.’ You set your sights on the factory jungle gym that you saw Todoroki running towards earlier. With a grin, you jumped towards it.

‘Now this should be fun.’

* * *

Emi let out a gasp. ‘Where did she even come from?! She just appeared and separated them just as easily as Shindo did with her classmates!’ She frowned.

“What’s wrong, Joke? Didn’t think they would last this long?” Eraser was staring at her from the corner of his eye. She met his gaze briefly. “That student of yours, she’s good. How did you train her that well in such a short amount of time?” Eraser shrugged. “That’s not my doing. She was trained by a retired Hero before coming to U.A. Very little of how she uses her quirk today is because of me.”

Emi bit her cheek and turned back to the arena just in time to see you jump towards the mass of factories and pillars.

* * *

You zoomed past large towers of metal, jumping off the pipes and twisting your way deeper into the maze.

You blinked and stopped in mid air, glancing down at the ground. A group of people in various colored suits had Todoroki surrounded. You quirked your lips to the side as you met his gaze. His eyes widened just before four of the opposing students threw their balls at him. He blocked their attacks with an iceberg and peered around it to look at you. Todoroki shook his head at you, and with a shrug and a nod, you continued on.

You landed on a large pipe and glanced around. You didn’t see anyone, so you jumped down into the hole in front of you to ground level. You landed with a grunt and stood. You froze when you caught sight of various pairs of eyes staring at you. Your eyes widened and you shakily glanced around at the students from another school. After a moment of silence, you finally spoke. “Well shit.” 

And then, you promptly stomped on a long and thin pole nearby, making it fly up into your waiting hands, and chucked it at the nearest person’s face.

It hit dead-on, knocking him out, and everyone sprang to action. “Pandora!” You yelled as you ducked a laser coming straight towards your head, “Fallin’ by Why Don’t We!”

The drums pounded and you grabbed the pole as you slid past, slapping it against another face. You grabbed onto the person’s shoulders and twisted around them, kicking wind tornadoes into your opponents bodies. You wrapped your legs around the person you were using as a support and threw them into another group. They knocked over like bowling pins and you landed on your feet in a crouch. Planting your hands firmly on the ground, you swung your legs around in a circle. “Waltz: Mist Wind!”

The students around you yelled as their bodies were picked up by the strong winds. The metal pipes around you groaned and creaked loudly, bending slightly under the strength of your Waltz. The balls your opponents were carrying flew out of their hidden satchels and swirled around you along with their bodies. 

You finally stopped spinning your legs around, and they fell to the floor with loud thuds. You stood up and noticed your targets glowing blue. You looked over the students around you, and every single one of their targets were red.

‘I guess I’m done. Well, I should get going.’

* * *

“Todoroki!” You screeched and tackled him in a hug. He stumbled as your arms wrapped tightly around his middle, glancing behind him to look down at you. Todoroki almost fell to the floor, but barely caught his footing before tipping too far to one side. You giggled and jumped, moving your arms to wrap around his neck and letting your legs snake around him. Once you were settled, he glanced back at you. “Comfortable?”

“Yup!” You said with a giant smile. Snuggling into his neck and closing your eyes, you tightened your hold around him. “I’m so happy you made it!”  
  
“Why are you so surprised?” You leaned away from him as he started walking again, joining the rest of the students who had passed the first part of the test. “I’m not! I’m just happy!” Todoroki placed his hands under you, helping to support you against him. You glanced around at the many students around you. Your gaze met a familiar one, and suddenly you were staring into the cold glare of Yoarashi Inasa from Shiketsu. You blinked. ‘What the heck? What is up with this dude?’

When his glare didn’t let up, you narrowed your eyes and let your smile become frosty. He flinched, as if just realizing you were there, and smiled brightly at you. You let your smile slip into a deep frown, glancing down at Todoroki before looking at him once more. You shook your head at him, eyes narrowing into a cold glare before glancing away.

‘First he’s all sunshine, then the next time I see him, he’s cold. What the hell is going on in his head?!’

* * *

Inasa stared after you, shocked. Why were you glaring at him? Wait, most importantly, why were you on the back of someone so horrible?! And how is he so comfortable with it?!

Sure, he was glaring at him, not you, but you defended him?! Why?! Couldn’t you see his cold and angry stare?!

Inasa remembered you clearly. He remembered that you had passed first with the highest scores ever, and that you had congratulated both he and Endeavor’s son. And he brushed you off coldly when you had, yet all you did was shrug and smile before turning to Inasa. Surely you saw it then, right? That the person you were now happily riding like a horse was not a good person? Inasa was sure that no one in the world with that much hate and anger would be a good person, yet he could tell now that you definitely didn’t agree.

He frowned. Maybe he should inform you? Yes, that seems like a good plan! He shouldn’t let someone so amazing be dragged down by someone like Endeavor or his son!

Inasa decided to approach you when you were away from him. That way, he could help you without any fear of Endeavor’s son overhearing.

* * *

You hummed as you happily ate a pastry next to Todoroki. Swinging your legs back and forth, you glanced around the large room. 

That Inasa guy kept stealing glances at you, and you knew he was aiming to get you alone. You had a feeling you knew what he was going to do, so you made sure to stand by Todoroki at all times. Todoroki had probably already noticed your (slightly) weird behavior, but he has yet to say anything.

You glanced over at Pandora with a slight frown. A few nights ago, when the girls were talking about ‘crushes’, you had tried to call Allen. However, you couldn’t reach him. You had a bad feeling about it, like something had happened to him, and you couldn’t shake it off. You silently cursed Allen for leaving you behind again; you wouldn’t be so worried if you were with him right at this very second! You turned to Todoroki to distract yourself and quickly realized he was gone. You stood up, glancing over people’s shoulders to see if you could spot him. Unfortunately, seeing as you were already short and everyone seemed to tower above you, you couldn’t find him. Frowning, you quickly stuffed the rest of your pastry into your mouth and started walking.

A hand appeared on your arm, and you jumped, leg lashing out to kick at whoever thought it was a good idea to sneak up on you. It was quickly stopped by a large hand, and you glanced up to meet Inasa’s eyes. You frowned and swallowed your food. “Hi..”

“Hello! I’m Yoarashi! I need to talk to you!” And with that, he swept you up and walked swiftly into a secluded hallway. He set you down carefully, and you stumbled back to give yourself some space from the giant in front of you. You crossed your arms, cocking your hips to the side. “Yes?”

“Why are you being so friendly to Endeavor’s son?” You blinked in confusion, tilting your head to the side. “Did you see that look in his eyes in the Recommendation test?”

_-Cold eyes, one blue and one gray, flicked away from you, and the owner walked past you. They were hateful and angry, but you could see there was something more to him. You were immediately reminded of Kanda, and you shrugged with a smile and turned to the second place winner.-_

“His name’s Todoroki, not Endeavor’s son.” You spoke coldly, staring up at Inasa with narrowed eyes and a frosty smile. “And yes, I did. A family member of mine had the same eyes as Todoroki once did, and he isn’t so bad.” Inasa’s smile turned into a frown. “But he’s _Endeavor’s_ son! Endeavor only cares about himself!”

“Not true.” He stopped and stared at you incredulously. “I..what?” 

You sighed. “I worked with him once, during the week-long internships. Did your school do them? U.A. did, and we had to stay with our mentors for a week before coming back to school. I don’t like him at all, but he was the person I needed to talk to in order to master my Waltzes. He doesn’t only think of himself. He just pushed his strict ambitions onto Todoroki. Now,” You held up a hand when Inasa opened his mouth, “I’m not saying he’s a good person. He’s most definitely not. What I am saying, however, is that you’re implying that Todoroki is just like Endeavor-”

“And he is!”

“-Which he is not. Let me finish before you cut in.” You leveled an annoyed stare at him before continuing. “I’ve been his friend since the moment the school year started. You have not. I have seen him change from what he was at the exam to what he is now. You have not. You’re assuming things because of one meeting, and that is something I _hate_ with a seething passion.” Inasa stared at you as you glared up at him. You stepped closer to him, causing him to step back. “You don’t know _anything_ about Todoroki, yet you have the balls to say that about him? Shame on you.” You took another step. “Shame on you for that. He does not deserve your attitude. He does not deserve every horrible thing you’ve said about him, and I will not tolerate you trying to change my mind for no reason other than you hate him. How dare you do this to him.”

You stepped back and shook your head. “It really is a pity you let your emotions cloud your reasoning. You would have been good friends if you had looked past your biased judgments about someone you didn’t even know.”

With that, you left the hallway to search for your friend, who you found with several of your other classmates.

* * *

In a small hotel room somewhere in Texas, two men stood around a bed. One fidgeted with his hands while the other had his arms crossed. “Well?” The taller one snapped. “What’s taking you so long?” His companion sighed and rubbed his face, hiding behind both of his gloved hands. “..I’m trying to figure out how to switch with him..”

“Just let him take over so he can fix your damn golem, Moyashi!”

“Alright, alright, BaKanda! You don’t need to yell at me!”

“ _What_ did you just call me, you short motherfucker?!”

The smaller teen snapped his head up and glared at the other. “I’m not short! You're just freakishly tall! And _you_ need to get your ears checked if you can’t hear me!” Suddenly, his silver eyes flashed golden, and his skin darkened into a dark gray. The taller teen tensed, hand instinctively snapping to his sword’s hilt before he snatched it away. “Geez, you two fight like an old married couple!” He laughed.

“We’re not an old married couple, asshole!” A hand twitched to the sword again. He was really regretting letting this short asswipe live. “Relax, Kanda!” His companion waved a hand, and Kanda clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Fuck off, Moyashi Number Two.”

“Right back at ya!” The man controlling the teen’s body smiled cheerily, and Kanda scoffed. “Also, it’s Neah, not Moyashi Number Two. Who’s number one?”

Kanda stared pointedly at the body Neah was currently inhabiting, and he slowly nodded. “Oh, right. Allen.” Neah shrugged and glanced down at the jar filled with what looked like salt, but both of them knew it wasn’t. The Noah gingerly picked the jar up and peered at it with sorrow. “I’m so sorry this happened to you, old friend. Don’t worry, I’ll fix you soon!”

“So you can fix the mini asshole.” Neah snorted and nodded. “Yeah, though it will take some time. About a few days max, if Allen lets me stay in control for that long. That bastard managed to hit Tim with his weakness, so I’m going to have to reconstruct him from scratch.” He looked up then. “You don’t mind having to fight off Akuma while I work, do you?” Kanda blinked and then started cursing loudly. Neah started laughing as he unscrewed the jar. “Sorry, but you’re going to have to if you want to talk to Aleah faster! It’s the only way!”

“Shut the hell up, dammit!”

* * *

“Guys!” You yelled and tackled Izuku to the ground. He landed with a grunt. “You passed! Oh, I knew you could do it!” You rolled off of him and helped him up before turning to Uraraka. You gave her the same treatment before moving onto Kirishima and Kaminari. You separated from them before tugging them all to the T.V. screen.

Your other classmates who had already passed were staring up at it in anticipation and slight fear. You stood by Todoroki and bounced on the balls of your feet.

**_“That’s two more in! Eight spots left!”_ **

“Just enough for our classmates to get through.” You say, hand rubbing your right wrist. 

**_“Seven spaces remain! Six left! Make that five! The pressure’s on now! In the final minutes, U.A. came together and pulled off some absolutely insane combos!”_ **

You grabbed onto Uraraka and Momo’s hands, and Jirou and Tsuyu joined in. You squeezed their hands tightly, and they squeezed back. ‘Come on guys! Quickly!’

**_“Four spots! Now three! Oh, that one’s in from Shiketsu High! So only two spots remain!”_ **

You bit your lip nervously. 

**_“THE LAST STUDENTS PASSED! EVERY SPOT IS NOW FILLED! ONE HUNDRED STUDENTS WILL ADVANCE! THE END IS FINALLY HERE! WAHOO!”_ **

You screamed, tears gathering in your eyes while you jumped up and down in relieved joy. “THEY PASSED!” You let go of your friends’ hands and hugged someone tightly. “HOLY SHIT, THEY PASSED!” Those in your class around you started cheering loudly while a shot of your remaining classmates walking out of the arena appeared on the screen. 

The students around you watched on as half of your class celebrated, soon joined by the remaining students. You all huddled together, cheering, and you somehow was pushed into the middle of the huddle.

You threw your fists in the air with a large grin as Kirishima and Sero picked you up and placed you on their shoulders. “LET’S GO! WE DID IT!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so. much longer chapter this time. also, we get to see more epic shit. yay! hope you liked this chapter, and that you'll have a great day/night! you're all AWESOME! XP


	21. Chapter 20

**_“Alright, for the hundred of you who passed the first test, please turn your attention to the screen.”_ ** You quickly scarfed down another pastry and turned to the large screen suspended from the ceiling. It turned on and showed a picture of the arena once more. “It’s the test arena..” Izuku’s brows furrowed slightly as he gazed up at the screen in anticipation.

Suddenly, the buildings exploded, collapsing on themselves. You jumped, hands jerking to your mouth in surprise. They paused halfway there. “Wait,” Izuku jolted back, “Does that mean..?”

**_“There’s only one more round for the exam. Your goal is simple; undertake rescue exercises and save the bystanders who are trapped.”_ ** You slowly blinked.  **_“Use this time to show us how you will carry out successful rescue procedures once you receive your provisional licences. Treat this as though it is the real thing.”_ **

Your eyes widened slightly and you peered closer. People, children and elderly adults, were climbing out of the rubble. You may not be able to hear them, but your mind gladly supplemented the screams of real injured bystanders, tearing them from the deepest corners where you thought you tightly locked them up in.

_ -People screamed, fear drenching their voices and making your blood curdle. You closed your eyes, trying desperately to block the sight of them crumbling to dust from your memory...It didn’t work well.- _

_ -You sleepily peered through the crack between the doors. The scientists inside didn’t notice you. You didn’t recognise any of them. They must be from another branch. You rubbed your eyes and peered closer, wondering why they were up so late. You stepped closer, bare feet softly hitting against the cold tiles.  _

_ Oh! There was a boy there as well! And you knew him! Well, you have yet to talk to him, but you’ve seen him around a lot, mostly in the Medical Wing. He was a little older than you, maybe a few years older, yet he looked so worn out. (You gave him candy every now and then, when he was the most tired and in pain. You couldn’t help but notice his appearance was progressively getting worse, though.) You knew he wasn’t an Exorcist, he doesn’t bear the coat like how Lenalee does! You frowned. Was he an Accommodator with no Innocence like you? You knew the boots Lenalee wore were yours, but it belonged to her so you never asked for it. You never even wanted it in the first place.. _

_ “It would appear he’s lost the ability to hear,” One scientist said, “We’re free to discuss the procedure openly in his presence gentlemen.” What..? “What was his previous synchronization rate?” Another scientist asked. “Regrettably, we didn’t measure a number worth reporting. Each experiment causes his body functions to deteriorate further. I’m..starting to have doubts the procedure will work unless the subject is an Accommodator.” _

_ “This test may prove to be the final one.” Another cut in. “We can’t give up now, it’s just a matter of time. Besides, he’s a close relative to one of the Exorcists.” _

_ “True..Also, lets not forget that it was the subject’s own desire to undergo the process!” What were they talking about..?  _

_ Suddenly, the boy glanced over at you. Your gazes met briefly, and the scientists pulled him up from his chair gently. He walked towards Hevlaska’s room, yet hesitated at the doorway. He turned to glance back at you and slowly waved. Your gut twisted sharply, and you flinched at the pain.  _

_ No.  _

_ He continued on inside.  _

_ Something’s wrong. _

_ The door to the elevator snapped shut loudly, and some of the scientists moved towards the surveillance cameras to observe the results of the test happening in Hevlaska’s room. The others moved to the windows looking into her room. The screens were large and bright, and the boy appeared as the elevator floated downwards into her cave. You whimpered, hand clutching onto your nightgown tightly as the scientists ordered the large being to implant Innocence inside the boy once more. _

_ Hevlaska brought the fragment closer to him, and the screens shone with a bright green light from the Innocence. You, along with the scientists, gasped. Suddenly, the boy’s screams filtered through the speakers, and the scientists started yelling at each other. Your gaze stayed on the screens while the boy’s pained screams pitched higher and louder than before. “Please,” You whimpered quietly, voice unable to gain volume from your fear, “Stop this.” _

_ The boy’s torment continued, his once blue eyes completely green. “Please..this is wrong..” His eyes turned blue once more, and he glanced at the windows leading to Hevlaska’s room. Your eyes widened, a lone tear falling down your face. It was like..he was staring straight at you.  _

_ “You’re hurting him..” _

_ Light from inside the room blinded you, and you shut your eyes. When you opened them, they met the black eyes of a monster staring back at you.- _

‘No.’

You trembled, feeling your eyes prick and your breath sputtering out in short gasps. You jerked, holding your breath and biting your tongue to ground yourself back into the moment.

‘This isn’t real. Not like that. No one will die this time!’ When your breathing returned to normal, you opened your closed eyes. (You didn’t realize they had closed..) You found your hands had slapped tightly against your mouth, preventing any sound to come out. You doubted that anyone would hear any sound you make over the loud voice echoing around the arena, but you decided to glance around to make sure no one noticed you.

Everyone was still staring up at the screen, which meant you were only gone for a few seconds. No eyes were staring at-wait. Bakugou glanced away from you, going back to the screen. You blinked. No. He saw you.

You snapped your gaze to the ground. Your vision blurred even more, and you reached under your shades to wipe away the tears. You clenched your hands into tight fists and forced yourself to tune back into what the voice was saying.

‘I won’t let anyone die like that ever again.’

* * *

Katsuki glanced away from you, mentally cursing at himself for getting caught. He glared up at the screen showing off the ruined arena and the sure to be annoying actors.

Something was off about you. You were immediately on the verge of a panic attack right when the screen changed to the actors in the rubble. He growled, scowl deepening. What the hell is going on in your brain to make you so afraid of a rescue exercise?!

* * *

“Hey, you with the collar!” You jolted and snapped your head up, gaze snapping to Todoroki. He was walking towards Inasa by the time you located him, and you quickly set down your drink. “Did I offend you somehow?” When Inasa turned and glared at Todoroki, you sighed and silently made your way behind your friend. ‘Oh no. Here we go.’ 

Inasa didn’t notice you staring at him. “Oh no, I’m sorry! Did I hurt your feelings?” You let your smile slip off your face, and your eyes narrowed. “Well, the thing is,  _ son of Endeavor _ , _ I just can’t help but to hate both of you _ . You’ve changed a little bit since the first time our paths crossed, but you  _ definitely  _ still have your father’s eyes.” Your eyes widened at that before you snarled, stomping in-between Inasa and Todoroki. ‘Asshole. He went too far!’ Inasa turned his glare to you just as one of his classmates called him.

“Something wrong, Yoarashi?” Inasa perked up and started walking away. “Nope, not a thing, sir!” You glared at Inasa’s retreating back. Suddenly, a bell rang, and you snapped your attention to the ceiling.

**_“Villains have performed a large scale terrorist attack spanning all of insert city name here! Since most buildings have collapsed, there are many injured!”_ **

‘Game time.’

You activated your boots while the walls of the room fell down. **_“Due to heavily damaged roads, the first responders have unfortunately been delayed for the time being. Until the emergency services arrive, the Heroes in the area will lead the rescue efforts. Your task is to save as many people as you can and help the injured! And with that, BEGIN!”_ ** A horn blared, and you jumped up into the air. You flipped.

“Acoustic Kick Technique: Sound Shackles,” You whisper to yourself, and with a blast of green light and a sonic boom, you rocketed forward. You were on the other side of the arena within seconds, and you swung your legs out in front of you before you slammed into the wall. The cement cracked under your feet, and you jumped off of it, floating to the ground. “Pandora,” The golem slipped out of the bags attached to a belt and flapped by your ear, “Scan.” A holographic light appeared and scanned the area around you. It shook its body to the side and you sighed. “Okay then. Let’s go.”

You jumped, slowly landing on a rock tower nearby. You glanced around before spotting a figure in the distance. You jumped once more, landing next to a woman clutching her side. She jumped back in shock. “Hello ma’am!” You glanced down at her side for a moment and gestured. “Mind if I take a look at that?” She glanced down shakily before nodding. “Yes, of-of course.”

You gently pushed her to a sitting position, supporting her on the way down, and examined her side. There was a nasty gash going from her hip to just under her chest. With quick movements, you wrapped her fake injury up with a bandage. ‘If this was a real injury, it would be gushing with blood.’ You thought as you helped her back up, ‘That means, if she’s acting and reducing points, I should quickly get her to medical help before she ‘bleeds out’. I’m going to have to run instead of use my Sound Shackles again.’

“Ma’am, I’m going to pick you up, okay?” At her nod, you gently picked her up in a bridal carry and crouched, jumping. “Pandora! Which way is the first aid station?” The golem snapped to attention, spinning towards the area you had just come from. It took off, and you followed, jumping from rock tower to rock tower as gently as you could. After a few minutes of running, you finally spotted a white flag in the distance. It waved in the slight breeze. Already, there were dozens of the actors getting treated there. You landed in the middle of the zone, accidentally startling a few of your fellow students, and set your passenger down carefully. 

“Hey, I got someone with a severe injury over here!” You called, and someone immediately ran up. She started unwrapping the bandage and peering closer to the fake gash. “We’re going to have to close this up with stitches,” She paused and turned to you, “You should go back and find more civilians.” You nodded, yet just as you were about to jump away, the ground rumbled as a series of explosions rocked the arena. You snapped your gaze to the first explosion and immediately slid into a battle stance. “What’s going on..?” You muttered, eyes flicking back and forth.

**_“A villain has completed another large scale attack!”_ **

You heard Izuku’s voice behind you, and you glanced at him. “Everyone, this is part of the exam!” You frowned and turned back to the hole in the wall just as dozens of people dressed in peculiar suits slipped out. Your eyes widened as Gang Orca followed the first wave. His minions ran down the large pile of rubble, coming straight towards the injured civilians. 

**_“Terrorists have appeared and are beginning to sweep the area! Hero candidates at the scene should continue the rescue efforts while also suppressing the newly arrived villains.”_ **

With a gasp, you spun towards the other students. “Everyone! Evacuate the civilians!” You yell. The Heroes in training around you snapped to action, helping the civilians away from the station. You turned back to the horde of ‘villains’ heading towards you. ‘We need to keep them away from the civilians!’ You thought and started running towards the ‘villains’, ‘Everyone else should be busy evacuating, which means I’m one of the few who can fight!’

“Waltz: Terre Wind!” You jump and twist, lashing out your legs in a series of kicks. The earth around you moved, molding around your feet into several tornadoes. They crashed into your opponents’ lines, sucking them up inside and throwing them into their allies. “Get everyone to safety!” Shindo ran past you and Izuku yelled after him. 

“Shindo, wait!”

“Just do it! Get them as far away from the villains as possible!” He yelled and stopped, slamming his hands onto the ground. “I’ll start hammering away at the henchmen at one second intervals!” The ground vibrated, breaking into smaller chunks and breaking the henchmen up. You spun once more, lashing a kick out and the earth rotated into another tornado. Shindo glanced over his shoulder at you and nodded. You gave him a smile, and just as he turned back around, Gang Orca appeared in front of him.

Your eyes widened as time seemed to slow down, and Shindo was knocked away with what looked like an ultrasonic blast. You stepped back, gaze following Shindo’s body. “Shindo!” Izuku yelled, and you frowned, turning back to the Pro Hero.

“Only two rearguards to hold us back? You’ve underestimated me.” You lunged forward, grabbing onto Shindo and dragging him back. Gang Orca started walking towards the civilians. You blinked, and he had turned to the side, sonic wave breaking up the iceberg coming his way. You snapped your head to the right to see Todoroki frowning at the Hero. With a light laugh, you continued to drag the older student out of harm’s way.

“Well then, that was unexpected.” You say as cheerfully as you could manage while your classmates joined in on the fray. The wind picked up, and your eyes widened. Your hair whipped back and forth in the strong breeze, which shattered Todoroki’s iceberg into pieces and sent Gang Orca’s henchmen flying. You snapped your head up as Inasa flew in. Allowing yourself a moment to think, you closed your eyes and let the wind flow through your hair.

_ -Your eyes clenched shut at the bright light stabbing them suddenly, and you raised a hand to shade your eyes from the sun’s harsh glare. It had been a while since you were allowed outside, so your eyes were unused to warm rays from the ball of light in the sky. You blinked, glancing up at your master. He nodded, gently pushing you forward. You turned back to the open space before you and, with a moment of hesitation, activated your heavy boots and started running. You jumped, and soon felt a grin tugging at your mouth as the wind tugged at your hair.- _

_ -You jumped off the cliff, the train quickly coming closer. The wind flowed through your hair, tugging sharply at the strands.- _

_ -Despite having to fight against a Level 3 with a gravity manipulation ability, you felt a jolt of belonging that you were pretty sure you were not supposed to experience in a situation like this. You stamped it down, though you could still feel a smile threatening to break through your frown. The air flowed around you, tugging at your hair and clothes, and you felt that odd sense of belonging once more.- _

_ -You were finally where you belonged; flying through the sky, as free as a bird.- _

You snapped your eyes open and turned back to your fellow students who were evacuating. You tugged Shindo’s limp body away from the Pro Hero, briefly glancing back at Inasa and Todoroki. Your gut twinged, and your face scrunched up in concern. You had a bad feeling that something was going to happen, and not in a good way. Oh well, you’ll come back later. You had some actors to save from the ‘villains’.

You really hoped you wouldn’t come back to a cat fight between those two..

* * *

You were wrong to hope for the best when it came to Todoroki Shouto and Yoarashi Inasa’s ability to put their differences aside and fight as a team. You were  _ so, so wrong _ .

Gang Orca had just taken down Inasa with a long distance sonic blast and was currently hitting Todoroki with one from up close. He fell to the ground with a thud. You narrowed your eyes and jumped just as his henchmen turned their sights back to the civilians. ‘Innocence,’ Your boots flashed, jets of fire from the balls of your feet propelled you faster at your silent plea, ‘I need to be stronger. Please, give me more! More speed and power!’

You twisted in midair, flipping as you prepared your body to meet an immovable object. You collided with Gang Orca, pushing him back a few steps. You crouched into your attack, gritting your teeth while Gang Orca tried to glance at you. His orcan eyes narrowed at you. You had hit his head, forcing his face away from you, and effectively making his ultrasonic waves useless on you for the moment. His clawed hands reached up to grab you. “So, you think that one kick will be able to stop me in my tracks where your comrades failed at that with multiple attacks? Now that is just-”

“Waltz: Huǒyàn Wind!” His eyes widened as a burst of green fire exploded at your feet. You jumped away, flipping to land on your feet. He stumbled back as the fire enveloped him. You glanced down at Todoroki and Inasa. Smoke was starting to rise up from Todoroki’s left side, and you could feel the gentle breeze around you grow a little stronger. You pushed back into your crouch, jumping up and running towards Gang Orca as he recovered.

He turned his gaze to you just as you aimed a strong kick to his head, forcing it to whip to the side. You landed another one to his stomach before he managed to return his face to you. You jumped high in the air as he aimed a sonic attack at you, dodging it smoothly. You flipped and, with a burst of fire from your feet for an extra kick in speed, rocketed back down to him. 

You slammed one heel into the top of his head, forcing him to his knees. You jumped again just as Todoroki’s left side burst with large flames. Inasa manipulated the air and both of them blasted a synchronized attack at Gang Orca. You smirked, allowing yourself to hover in the air. 

“Forget the wind, stop the flames!” Gang Orca’s henchmen aimed their guns at Todoroki, firing the glue paste at him yet again. A large iceberg appeared and blocked the glue from hitting Todoroki’s immobile body. With an impressed whistle, you flew over to the villains and dropped down on one of them, aiming a kick to his chest. He flew into another henchman with a grunt, forcing both to land heavily on the ground. 

“What the-? Where’d she come from?!”

“Doesn’t matter! Get her too!”

You jumped, landing on one’s face with both feet before kicking off again to hit your next target. Your smirk grew wider as you kicked another random henchman into three more. ‘Now with their attention solely on me, Todoroki doesn’t have to worry about an attack from both sides! He can focus on taking down Gang Orca!’ You thought and jumped again, narrowly missing a glob of glue. It hit Todoroki’s iceberg, and you shivered while you took down the one who had fired that recent one. ‘That was a bit too close for comfort!’

You spun in a chaîné turn and dropped, rolling under someone’s legs as they were hit with a glob of glue originally meant for you. You let out a snort and spun in a pirouette once you popped back up. “Waltz: Terre Wind!” The ground melted into mud and twisted around you as you spun, hitting the henchmen harshly. They screeched loudly.

Finally, you stopped as Izuku appeared. With a grin, you waved at him. “Heya, Zuzu!” Ojiro jumped back into your line of sight, facing other henchmen. They both nodded at you before you all moved into a tight circle. “The injured have all been evacuated!” Ojiro said with a tense smile, “And reinforcements should be here any minute now!” You grinned at the henchmen surrounding you all. “I think this is all of the henchmen who are left! I took out a big number over here, so they should be spread thin!”

“Good!” Izuku said just as Mina and Tokoyami appeared. “Hey guys! You miss me?”

“We’re here to help!” 

You ducked as more of the henchmen shot more globs of the glue at you all. They were suddenly knocked over by something, and you all turned to see Tsuyu quite literally appear. You whistled, impressed at her new special move. You turned when she yelled out a warning, spotting more henchmen appearing behind Ojiro. However, before you could move, they were quickly knocked to the side by a wall of hair. You turned to see one of Inasa’s older classmates glaring at the villains.

You let him continue to attack the remaining enemies and stepped up next to Izuku, who had stopped to observe the wall of fire and wind. He glanced at you before returning his attention back to the cyclone. 

Suddenly, the twisting wall of fire fell apart by Gang Orca’s sonic wave attack. And then Izuku was gone from your side. You watched as he appeared above the Pro Hero, aiming a kick to his head, which was quickly blocked. 

You jumped, flipping as Izuku yelled at him.

“Waltz: Ikehu Wind!” The green electricity coating your boots jumped off of the hard surfaces and twisted into an oddly shaped tornado. It rocketed towards Gang Orca, and he raised his other arm to block it.

Unfortunately, your attack never reached the Hero. It dispersed a foot away from the large man. You landed and stared as a horn blared. 

**_“Um, yeah. So at this time, all of the HUC members have been rescued by the disaster zone. It may seem anti-climatic, but with this, the provisional licencing exam has officially been completed!”_ **

“It’s over..?” Izuku said as he looked up at the sky. You felt your shoulders raise slowly as your face grew warm. You just wanted to crawl into a hole and stay there until this weird feeling rising from deep within your chest went away for good. What was it called again?

**_“After we tally the scores, we will announce the results here in the arena. Anyone injured should go to the infirmary. The rest of you are free to change clothes and wait wherever you like.”_ **

You finally allow yourself to fall into a sitting position. “Ah, Aleah!” Izuku appeared next to you, his concerned face leaning closer to you. “Are you okay? What’s wrong? Are you hurt?! If so, we need to get you to the infirmary! Or are you just tired? Wait, are you hot? You look like you might be running a fev-” You slapped a hand over his mouth and he immediately stopped talking.

“Just..give me a moment to process my Waltz not working in front of everyone.” He tilted his head and gently pried your hand away from his face. “But..I thought that was normal?” You shook your head. “Not anymore. I’ve been working on my Waltzes to the point where it’ll actually work when I need it to. But that was so embarrassing!” You hid your face in your hands, curling up into a ball as best as you could. Your Innocence deactivated. 

“Maybe that Waltz depends on distance rather than power?” You peeked through your fingers up at him. Izuku had a hand up to his chin, eyes staring down at the ground. “Maybe you need to get closer to your target before using that Waltz. It looked like it was made from lightning, right?” You shrugged. “Electricity, in general.” Izuku hummed.

With a sigh, you stood up, holding out your hand for Izuku. He took it and you helped him up. “Let’s go,” You say, watching as Todoroki and Inasa were carted away to the infirmary.

“Yeah..”

* * *

**_“Okay...Everyone, thanks for your hard work in today’s exam. Now before I announce the results, I should probably explain the way we evaluated you.”_ ** You grabbed onto Uraraka’s hand squeezed. She smiled nervously at you.  **_“Between HUC and those of us in the Hero’s Safety Commission, we had a two fold merit system that we used to determine your total scores. In other words, we were evaluating you based on how few mistakes you made in the crisis situation.”_ ** You fought the urge to glance at Todoroki. 

**_“Anyway, the names of those who passed are listed here in alphabetical order. Keep my words in mind as you search the screen for your name.”_ ** The announcer (what was his name again? You completely forgot it during the chaos from earlier.) gestured to the screen behind him, and you quickly scanned the large screen.

You sighed in relief when you finally found your name, and your body sagged into Uraraka. “Oh thank god..” You said as your classmates that had passed cheered.

“TODOROKI!” You jumped with a shriek and spun around. Inasa walked towards your friend, body tense and straight as he glared down at the smaller teen. A tense moment of silence engulfed the two before Inasa slammed his head into the ground. You winced. “I’m sorry! It’s my fault that you didn’t pass the licencing exam! My focus was too narrow minded! Forgive me!” Todoroki glanced away. ‘Wait, he failed?’

“You’re fine. I was the one who got us off to a bad start.” Inasa interrupted him, yet Todoroki steamrolled ahead. “And thanks to the things you’ve said to me, I have a lot to think about.” With a sigh, you shook your head as your classmates murmured to each other. “Well,” You say, catching both boys’ attention, “At least you’re both admitting your wrongs. That’s a step in the right direction.”

Before they could retort, the sleep deprived announcer cut in.  **_“So, next we’ll give you the printouts of your results. They include a breakdown of your scores, so you’ll know exactly what areas you need to improve going forward.”_ ** You were handed yours quickly  and you looked it over. You froze, almost dropping the paper.  **_“We lopped off points when you did something wrong, fall below fifty, and you were done. These demerits are itemized on your result forms as you’ll see, so I’d look at them.”_ **

Your classmates shared their scores with each other, and so far you counted that Momo had the highest result. The girls turned to you. “So, what did you get Aleah?” Hagakure asked. You slowly and shakily flipped the page to show them, hiding your face behind the paper. They were silent for a moment, and then someone exploded.

“WHAT? YOU GOT A HUNDRED?!” You flinched as the crowd of students around you stopped talking. 

Hagakure wrapped her arms around you and jumped up and down. “Congrats Aleah!” You whined and hid your face in her shoulder. Jiro and Momo patted your back while Uraraka and Mina cheered. Despite being embarrassed, you felt a pang of pride warm you up. You had your Exorcist training and experience to thank for your high score. 

**_“Anyway, moving forward. Those of you who passed can exercise the same authority as Pro Heroes, but only during emergency situations. In other words, fighting villains, saving victims from criminal acts or accidents. You may act using your best judgement with no direct orders. Keep in mind that your every action from now on carries with it a deep responsibility to bettering our society, and that the world is watching you.”_ ** You finally managed to slip out of Hagakure’s grip and stepped back from her while she was distracted.

Pandora slammed against your head, and you turned to it. A holograph appeared in front of you, giving you a message from Aizawa. 

**_Akuma spotted nearby. Try to get out of there as soon as possible._ **

You frowned and sent a thumbs up emoji to him before quietly slipping away from the crowds. As you walked down the halls, you slipped off your tie. Things were going to get messy real quick. You could only hope that the Akuma doesn’t reach the exam building.

(You didn’t notice Bakugou watching you leave.)

* * *

You smiled at Izuku as he stared down at his provisional licence. You let out a giggle as Uraraka called out the little beads of tears welling up in his eyes. You listened in on their conversation quietly, looking down at your own licence. You had somehow managed to destroy the Akuma before they started making the licences, and you managed to make yourself look presentable before you went in.

You rubbed the plastic with your thumb. ‘I wish I could show this to Allen..’

“HEY! HEEY!” Your head popped up to see Inasa running past Todoroki. “Todoroki, I’ll see you at the special course, but here’s the thing!” You tilted your head to the side in your confusion. “Honestly, nothing has changed! I still don’t like you! Sorry!” Well, it was too good to be true anyways. “That’s all for now!”

You sighed as he ran away. Suddenly, Izuku started running after one of the upperclassmen of Shiketsu High. You tilted your head and shifted on your feet. You winced when your gut twisted slightly.

Something was wrong..but you didn’t know what.

* * *

**_“It’s about time you picked up! Where are you right now?”_ **

Himiko smiled widely as she shed the disguise off of her. Her mind flashed back to the green haired boy from U.A.  **_“Toga?”_ ** She felt her face heat up. “I had the most wonderful fun today!”

**_“Don’t get so lost in your role that you slip up! There’s too much at stake to get caught!”_ ** Ugh, what a party pooper. “Oh, don’t worry! I’ve never been caught in my life! And my mission was a success!” Himiko almost felt like twirling in her happiness. She was so close to Izuku! “Tomura is going to be so happy!” She held up a vial, grinning down at the drop of blood inside. “I managed to get some of Izuku’s  _ yummy _ blood!”

The call ended soon, and she skipped all the way back, humming a lullaby.

* * *

Shouto jumped when you wrapped a hand around his arm and tugged him to the side. He turned to you, blinking in shock when he spotted Yoarashi being tugged along right next to you. “Uh, Walker..?”

“Sh!” You hissed at him and tugged both of them to a secluded area. Shouto glanced back over to Yoarashi. The larger teen looked slightly uncomfortable, eyes flicking between his fellow captive and captor.

Finally, you stopped and spun around to glare at them with crossed arms. Shouto waited in uncomfortable silence that was only growing stronger for a full minute before you spoke.

“What the hell was that?” Shouto glanced at Yoarashi once more. “During the exam! You two were fighting each other rather than Gang Orca!” Shouto looked down, firmly planting his gaze by your feet. Oh, your anklets were spinning again! Uh oh…

You rounded on Yoarashi first. “What were you thinking attacking Todoroki like that before the second part of the exam?! That was uncalled for! I already told you Todoroki is NOTHING like Endeavor, and yet you STILL went and insulted him! You barely know him and yet your first instinct is to hate him over something he can’t control?! How dare you!”

You then turned your sights onto Shouto. He steeled himself. “And it’s not entirely Inasa’s fault! You should have tried better to push past what happened and made up, even if it was for one battle! It’s what Pros have to do every day!” You switched your glare from one to the other. “If they can’t depend on their partner, then with one slip up, they’re dead. Quit being immature and learn from this failure.”

And then, Shouto heard the most ridiculous thing yet. “Now, hug it out. Right now.” ..What?

“What?” He shared a glance with Yoarashi before turning back to you. “Seriously?” Yoarashi yelled. “Yes,  _ seriously _ , unless you want my boot way up where the sun don’t shine!”

“How is that supposed to fix ANY of our problems?” Shouto asked as he spread his arms and faced Yoarashi. Yoarashi’s face paled. “Wait, you’re not actually going to-” 

“I have seen her kick a monster thrice her size into a wall about a hundred yards away. I believe she will go through with her threat.” You glared at Yoarashi. “You bet your ass I will! Now hug! Time is still ticking on and the buses might leave without us!”

* * *

“I have one more question before I leave, All for One.”

“Oh?”

**_“You have one minute left All Might.”_ ** All for One felt his grin growing. “What is it?” 

“You were concerned over one of the students that Shigaraki kidnapped. Why? What made her so special to you?” All for One felt a sliver of amusement crawl up his throat. He laughed to himself. “Why, Tomura wanted to recruit her! She would have been a valuable asset to him.” He could feel All Might’s stare narrowing even further.

“That’s not the only thing. You let Young Bakugou slip out of your grasp with few efforts of stopping him, but the moment Young Walker tried leaving, you became enraged. You didn’t care much for Young Bakugou, but you did for Young Walker. Why?”  All for One chuckled, shaking his head slightly. “Oh, foolish All Might. Have you really not noticed?” All Might’s body grew tense. 

All for One mockingly gasped. “Oh, I’m hurt! She looks just like me! How could you not recognize the daughter of your greatest enemy?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, we're finally done with Ark 6 of this story! now onto the next one! i have run out of stocked up chapters again, so i'll be going on a hiatus. i'll be back as soon as i can with more epic stuff! i hope you all liked this chapter, and pleasepleaseplease leave your thoughts of it behind while you go! i feed off of them like a parasite. i hope you all have a wonderful day/night, and if you're in the U.S., happy Thanksgiving! you're all AWESOME! XP


	22. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warnings: Mirio might be a little OOC, this is my first time writing him and i hope i do his character justice. (i don't have a good grasp on his character, but i'm trying, please forgive me!)
> 
> also, this is a very important reminder for those of you who haven't paid any attention to my previous notes or the tags; i have decided to change Aleah's age. she is now Allen's twin sister, and the oldest in Class 1-A.

Toshinori paused in taking a sip from his tea. His reflection stared back at him. With a heavy sigh, he set it down and intertwined his fingers together. 

_ -“Oh, I’m hurt! She looks just like me! How could you not recognize the daughter of your greatest enemy?”- _

Toshinori shook his head and stood up. ‘No, stop! He wants you to let your guard down! It’s what he does! He gets into people’s heads and messes with them! That’s all this is, so stop it Toshinori!’ He walked out of his room in the teacher’s dorms, heading for the kitchen. Aizawa appeared as Toshinori was getting a refreshing cup of yogurt out of the fridge. The younger teacher barreled towards the front doors, slinging his capture weapon over his shoulders.

“Ah, Aizawa! What’s wrong?”

* * *

You stretched as you walked inside the common room, bag of popcorn in hand. You opened it as Bakugou walked past Izuku. “Meet me out front later.” He snarled quietly. “We need to have a talk about your quirk.” You blinked and popped a kernel in your mouth, pretending you didn’t hear anything he said. 

Your gut twisted slightly as Bakugou walked past you. “U-Um, okay..?” You felt a wave of protectiveness wash over you, and your eyes narrowed. You’re not going to let Izuku face Bakugou’s wrath alone if you could help it, not again!

* * *

Katsuki walked through the dark pathways with Deku following closely. The pathways were lit up by street lamps, but it was still rather dark. Everyone was asleep back at the dorms, which made it the perfect time for a serious talk with Deku.

“Kaachan..how far are we going?” Katsuki felt a muscle in his forehead twitch at the infuriating sound of Deku’s voice. “We shouldn’t be walking around in the middle of the night!” He was silent for a moment. “..Hello..?” Katsuki kept his gaze in front of him, never looking back at Deku.

_ -“Wow! You’re so lucky!” Deku’s happy voice called to him. The buzzing of cicadas in the forest was loud. “You’re quirk is amazing, Kaachan!” Katsuki felt his already large smirk grow. Of course his quirk was amazing! It could only belong to someone equally as amazing! “When I get mine, I hope it’s just as cool!” Katsuki laughed to himself, turning around to look Deku in the eye. “Whatever, Deku. No matter what power you end up with, you’ll never be able to beat me!”- _

Katsuki stopped in front of a half destroyed building from one of the previous training classes with All Might and glared up at it.

_ -“You’ll never be able to beat me!”- _

‘Then how was it he beat me here..?’

_ -Katsuki aimed an explosion packed punch at Deku, anger swirling inside of him. He didn’t see the other arm coming up to block his attack while the one Katsuki was focused on punched through the ceiling.- _

“You brought us to..Ground Beta..?” Deku asked slowly. Katsuki’s face twitched slightly. “This is the place where we had our first combat training.”

‘The place you took my victory. The place you took my dream.’

“Where I fought you and lost.” Katsuki lowered his glare from the building to the ground, hands clenching in his pockets. “You’ve always made me sick, you know that, right Deku? You were  _ useless _ , no power at all, a  _ joke _ ,” He glanced over his shoulder, gaze zeroing on Deku’s uncomfortable face, “So now you’re going to tell me how  _ you _ managed to get into this  _ damned school _ with a  _ brand new quirk that appeared out of nowhere.” _

_ -“I wasn’t hiding my quirk from you! It was given to me by someone else..Recently..” Katsuki gritted his teeth in his anger and frustration. Did he seriously think Katsuki was that dumb?! “I’ll work until I have full control of this borrowed quirk, and I’ll finally beat you with my own power!”- _

Katsuki felt a manic grin pull at the edges of his mouth. “I didn’t understand what you meant back then, because what you were saying made no sense. But  _ still _ , you kept climbing  _ higher and higher _ , always looking so  _ satisfied with yourself _ .” Katsuki tore his gaze from Deku’s face. He couldn’t stand looking at him any longer, the  _ smug bastard _ . “Ever since that sludge villain..no, it actually started when  _ All Might  _ came to town.  _ Better and better _ , until  _ finally _ , you passed the licensing exam while  _ I failed! _ How the hell is that even possible?!”

“That wasn’t a matter of ability, though-!”

“SHUT UP AND LISTEN, YOU DAMN NERD!” Katsuki yelled, anger clenching around his chest. “S-Sorry..” He wasn’t sorry, not a damn bit. Katsuki growled to himself as he shifted from one foot to the other. “It pissed me off that I’ve been beaten by such a  _ pathetic weakling _ , but after seeing what happened to All Might at Kamino Ward, I began to understand.”

_ -“It looks like you’ve made that borrowed power your own.”- _

He heard a loud gulp behind him, and Katsuki met the nerd’s gaze once more. “I’ve been giving it a lot of thought..You got your quirk from All Might, didn’t you? He gave you his power.” (Katsuki didn’t hear the quiet gasp from behind a corner. Didn’t recognize it as something other than just the sounds of the night.) He watched as a bead of sweat slowly ran down Deku’s face. “I heard about the boss villain.” The one that sent shivers down his spine, the one that was disturbingly interested in you,  _ the one that made All Might retire early _ . “Apparently, he has the ability to steal a person’s quirk and give it to somebody else. Which sounds kinda crazy, but then one of those old cat ladies had her power taken from her and can’t work anymore. And then you met All Might, and you started changing.” A flash of guilt made Katsuki lower his gaze to Deku’s infuriatingly red shoes. “Then he lost his power and had to retire, just like her.”

Katsuki’s hands clenched harder in his pockets. “I remember what he said after he beat the big bad. We all heard it.”

_ -All Might pointing at the camera on screen.  _ **“Now, it’s your turn.”** _ The crowds cheering loudly around their little group, bumping into him harshly while he struggled to hold Pigtails’ unconscious form. Deku the only one crying.- _

“Back then, you were the only one who really understood what he meant.” He glared up at Deku. “There’s more evidence too, like how those Nomu monsters have multiple quirks, even though it seemed impossible. Besides..”

_ -“You’ve gotten weaker, All Might.”- _

_ -“I’ll make certain you’re locked up for the rest of your life!”- _

“All Might and that boss villain knew each other.  _ Before _ that fight. Quirks can move from one person to another; All Might knew the guy who could do it, and somehow it’s all connected to what you said about getting your quirk from someone else.” Katsuki’s scowl deepened when Deku remained silent. “I asked All Might about this in a way, but he wouldn’t give me a straight answer. That’s why you’re going to tell me the truth.” Deku glanced away, seemingly lost in thought. “You’re not trying to deny anything, which means I must be right. So  _ say it _ .”

Deku finally met his glare again. “Okay, what if it’s true.” Katsuki narrowed his eyes as a fire ignited deep in his chest. It burned, growing bigger and spreading through his entire body. “You and I both wanted to be just like All Might when we were growing up, but  _ I  _ was the one who had the potential. Then,  _ somehow _ , a little  _ nobody like you _ was singled out by the person  _ I  _ admired the  _ most _ , and I  _ didn’t even realize it! That’s  _ why we’re here.” Katsuki raised a hand, preparing his arms to produce explosions.

“You and I are settling this. Right here, right now!”

“Wait, what?” Deku squawked out. He spread his hands out and stepped back. “How is that the best way to work things out?! No, this is bad, we’re not even supposed to be at Ground Beta by ourselves! Why don’t we talk about this during one of our free periods?” Katsuki felt the anger coil tighter around him. “We could reserve a training room or something! There’s no reason it has to be right now!”

“If we fight for real at school,” He growled at Deku, making the other teen flinch back, “We’ll be stopped. I wanna know what made All Might give his power to a loser like you. Let me see for myself. Is it because you looked up to him more than I did..? And if that’s the case, does it mean everything I’ve done to be like him is  _ wrong? _ ”

Deku mumbled something, but it didn’t reach his ears.

_ -“Hey! Did you see what he just did?! Man, it doesn’t get any cooler than All Might!”- _

_ -“No matter how much trouble he’s in, he’s always the winner!”- _

Katsuki started stretching his arms in preparation. “Y-You  _ really  _ want to do this?!” Deku asked nervously as he stepped back a few paces. “If you don’t want to get hurt, punch back. Oh yeah, you’ve switched to using kicks more these days, didn’t you?”

“Come on, stop! This isn’t smart!”

**_BOOM!_ **

Katsuki rocketed forward, palm slightly stinging from the large explosion he produced. (He didn’t notice movement at the edge of his line of sight, didn’t realize there was someone else there, scrambling away from the explosion.)

He swung his right arm down at Deku. Deku’s eyes widened as he noticed it, yet he jumped out of the way at the last second. Katsuki let out a large explosion and stopped, glaring down at the ground as Deku hissed in pain from the burn on his leg. “You know your problem, you’re always overthinking things! Just FIGHT ME!”

He let out another explosion, which let him shoot up in the air after Deku. He tried grabbing at Deku’s neck, yet the nerd ducked under his arm. Katsuki swung his right arm towards his opponent and produced a series of large explosions. It blinded him for a second, shattering the glass of the windows in buildings nearby. 

~~ (He didn’t notice the robot nearby, watching the fight unfold. He didn’t hear the scream of terror over the sounds of the explosions.) ~~

He growled as he landed across from Deku. He ignored his words of peace and let out a string of small pops in his palm. Soon, Katsuki got tired of hearing Deku speaking instead of fighting, and lunged forward with a blast. He aimed his hands at Deku and made an explosion, but Deku jumped out of the way yet again. “I told you to wait!” Deku yelled as he rolled to a stop. Katsuki growled loudly.

_ -“Wait for me, please! Kaachan!”- _

“You were always behind me, our whole lives!”

_ -“Are you alright?- _

“You were stuck to me; I couldn’t get rid of you, no matter how much I tried, you kept coming back!” Katsuki jumped as Deku tried talking to him again. He cut him off with another attack, which Deku quickly dodged. Katsuki stood up and glared up at Deku. “STOP RUNNING! STAND UP AND FIGHT!” 

‘We both admired him, so  _ why _ ?!’

_ -“In small doses, pride can be a useful attribute to have! I’d say you certainly have the ability to become a Pro Hero!”- _

_ -“I know why you’re angry, Young Bakugou. Because of Young Midoriya’s sudden improvement, right? But you have to remember each of your rankings when the year first began. It’s much easier to level up when you’re a novice.”- _

Katsuki snarled and swung another hand at Deku, palm open and smoking.  _ ‘Why?!’  _ Deku stopped Katsuki by placing his hands on either of his shoulders, but didn’t predict the leg swinging up in a kick aimed for his face. He stumbled back as Katsuki lunged forward with his hands popping with the beginning of an explosion. “WHY?!” Deku flipped over, kicking his hands away as the explosion set off in-between his palms.

_ -You were sparring with Deku outside the dorms one night. Deku aimed a kick to your stomach, yet you flipped over and kicked his foot away, effectively knocking him off balance. Deku tumbled to the grass and Katsuki scoffed, walking away from the window with his cup of water.- _

Katsuki felt a rush of new anger course through him; that was one of your moves! The damn bastard copied you! “TELL ME!”

Katsuki grunted when he landed on his rear. He didn’t notice that Deku’s kick made him lose his balance, and he was stumbling back before he could regain his footing.

“Hey, are you alright?” Katsuki flinched when he heard footsteps fast approaching, and he smacked Deku’s hand away. “Don’t you dare worry about me! Attack me!” He stood up, stumbling a little. “Why won’t you fight back?!” He let his hands dangle before him, hunched over. “WHY DID I END UP HAVING TO CHASE AFTER SOMEONE WHO WAS ALWAYS SO FAR BEHIND ME?!” Katsuki fought against the tears threatening to build up in his eyes, but he could hear it in his voice. “Why did a damn small fry like you get strong?! And become the Number One Hero’s Sidekick?! His favorite! You got so much better, and I DESTROYED ALL MIGHT! I admired him so much,” He stood up and stared at Deku’s shocked face, “But it’s because of me that he ended up losing his power! If I had been stronger..If I hadn’t been kidnapped by villains, then it NEVER would have happened!”

He wiped away the beginnings of tears. “All Might knows it was my fault, but hasn’t said anything..EVERYONE has to know, though! I CAN’T GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD! IT’S LIKE IT’S CONSTANTLY PLAYING ON LOOP!” The tears came back, and he yelled at the ground. “ _ SO WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?! _ ” Katsuki furiously wiped those tears away and faced Deku once more.

A moment passed before the green lightning danced across Deku’s body, and Katsuki felt a sliver of satisfaction crawl up his spine when he realized what that meant. He started walking towards him, slowly shifting into a run. Katsuki let another explosion propel him further, and Deku smacked a kick at his head when he came close enough. He stumbled back and slowly turned to his opponent.

“If I’m gonna do this, I’m going all out. I refuse to be your punching bag, Kaachan! Let’s go!” Katsuki glared at him, eyes flicking over his body. Suddenly, he slammed his palms to the ground and let out an explosion. He flew up high in the air before producing another explosion, propelling him at Deku. He dodged once more, but Katsuki spun his arms in a circle, producing more fire and flew towards him quickly. 

He missed Deku’s foot by an inch when he suddenly pulled his legs up, dodging his attack once more. Katsuki growled and made one more explosion. He vaulted over Deku and landed behind him, swinging his right hand in a punch to his stomach. It landed, and Deku flew back, landing against the metal dividers separating the street from the sidewalk. Deku looked up as Katsuki propelled himself closer with a boom and grabbed onto the metal pipe, swinging over it as Katsuki punched the ground with an explosion. He grabbed onto his ankle and flung him around, throwing him towards the other side of the street. Katsuki lost his footing and fell into the metal divider as Deku skidded to a stop.

Both of them slowly stood up, meeting each other’s gazes. Katsuki felt his eyebrow twitch at the sight of the growing grin on Deku’s face. “What are you smiling about?!” He shot forward and hit Deku with another explosion packed punch. “I thought you weren’t gonna be my punching bag!”

Deku stood up from where he landed and jumped towards him. “I’m not!”

“I bet you’ve got some kind of plan up your sleeve!” Katsuki yelled and put his hands together, charging up another attack. It blinded Deku and Katsuki took the chance to punch him in the face. “That’s one of the things I hate most about you!” Another explosion sent Deku into the air. “I can never tell what you’re thinking! No matter how much I beat you up, you keep coming back! It’s obvious you’ve always looked down on me, even when we were kids!” Deku landed as the lightning around his body died out. “You think you’re better than me, but if you seriously believe you’re gonna surpass me as a Hero, even with your new power, YOU BETTER THINK AGAIN, DEKU!”

Deku stared at him in shock. “Wait, is that what you actually believed?” He spoke quietly. Katsuki’s eyes narrowed. What the hell is he.. “All this time? Think about it, Kaachan. If I looked down on you, I wouldn’t want anything to do with you anymore! But I’m still here.” ..What? “I notice things you couldn’t all these years because I had nothing at first! There were things I hated about you, sure, but I could clearly see how amazing you were! You had so much going for you that I didn’t have,” His body started glowing before the lightning came back in full force, and he started running at Katsuki, “All Might was my hero, but you were the one actually in my life!”

Katsuki’s eyes widened when he realized the speed Deku was running towards him in. ‘He’s faster than before!’ Deku swung a kick at him. ‘I can’t dodge-gotta block!’ Katsuki swung his arms up to block the attack, and it landed. “I thought you were incredible, Kaachan! I wanted to see what you’d become!” Katsuki grunted. “THAT’S THE REASON I CONTINUED AFTER YOU!” The kick forced through his block, and Katsuki skidded back.

He stared down at the mark Deku’s kick left. ‘You  _ bastard _ .’

He charged up a powerful blast and rocketed towards Deku, who decided to meet him halfway with his own attack. Katsuki slid under his kick and turned to aim a punch at Deku, but the nerd was faster and kicked him back. Deku appeared in front of him in a flash of green lightning and swung a foot down in an axe kick. Katsuki inched back, narrowly dodging the foot. He charged up another explosion in one and blasted Deku away, breaking the windows again and flinging him back as well.

‘My timing was off with that hit!’ He thought as he pushed himself up. ‘He kicked into a higher gear!’ Suddenly, Deku was shooting towards him at a much faster speed, and Katsuki felt his eyes widen slightly. “Is that all you’ve got?!” Deku yelled, and Katsuki yelled in response, standing up and charging up another attack. He flew up, raising one arm up to block whatever attack Deku was going to give him. ‘I’ve got the upper hand in the air!’

And then Deku was clenching his hand into a fist and swinging it towards Katsuki. It slammed into his face and he fought against it as much as he could. Anger fueled him, and he grabbed onto Deku’s arm. “I WON’T LOSE TO YOU” He kicked Deku in the gut and twisted the positions so that Deku would land back first into the hard ground. His other hand popped with sizzling explosions, and he let out a huge one to propel them both to the ground.

They landed with another explosion, rocking the ground slightly.

As the smoke cleared, Katsuki glared down at Deku’s tired face. They were both panting heavily, and even if Deku had enough energy to slip out of his pin, he couldn’t, which made Katsuki the winner of their brawl.

“That’s it, we’re done here. I won this fight.” He paused to regain his breath. “You have All Might’s power, but even using his strength, even after making it your own, somehow you  _ still  _ managed to lose to me.” He scrunched his eyebrows in his confusion, eyes boring into Deku’s green ones. “ _ Why _ ..? How could you  _ lose _ ?!” He tightened his grip on his face.

“Stop this right now, both of you!” Katsuki jolted and glanced up. All Might strode closer to them. “Sorry, but I heard what you said.”

“All Might..” Katsuki leaned away from Deku as Deku peered over his leg. “..When did you get here?” Katsuki stood up from Deku and stepped away while his opponent slowly sat up. “I didn’t notice before, I  _ should have _ .” All Might stopped before them with a frown.

Katsuki turned away from the Hero, opting to stare down at Deku. “..Why did you pick Deku? It started when the sludge villain came, didn’t it? So why him?”

“He was powerless, but still more heroic than anyone else.” All Might answered as he walked closer to Katsuki. “I knew you were strong, that much was obvious. You were someone who could already fight, so I decided he should have a chance to stand in the ring.” Katsuki gritted his teeth together. Another pair of footsteps came closer, heeled shoes clicking against the cement. Who..?

“But now you know I’m weak, too..I always wanted to be like you, which meant being as strong as possible!” Deku slowly glanced up, meeting his gaze. He flicked his eyes down to the ground next to Deku and squeezed them shut. “But look at what I did to you! Because I’m not good enough..” All Might stopped by his side. “This is not your fault, Young Bakugou. I was always going to lose my power; you couldn’t do anything to change that! You are strong, but I focused too much on your physical strength and overlooked what was important.” a hand appeared on his head and gently tugged him towards a chest. “This isn’t your burden. I apologize. Sometimes I forget that you’re children.”

Katsuki pushed out of All Might’s arms and faced away from him. The Pro Hero was silent for a minute. “After being a Hero for so many years, you learn a few things.” Katsuki glanced at him. “Striving to be the best, like you Young Bakugou, and caring deeply about people, about rescuing those in trouble, like you Young Midoriya, both of those feelings are necessary in a Hero. Otherwise, they’ll never truly be able to represent justice. That’s why you admire his strength so much, Young Midoriya, and I know that’s why you’ve always feared his heart and spirit, Young Bakugou. Now that you’ve laid your feelings out on the table, maybe you can understand each other?”

Katsuki looked down. “If you have mutual respect and focus on making one another stronger, I’ve no doubt that you’ll become the ultimate Heroes, winning and saving people at the same time.” Katsuki raised his head a little, then peered over at Deku. He looked away and cursed softly. “That’s not what I wanted to hear.” He fell back and sat down on the street. He buried his face in his arms. “You,” Katsuki could hear Deku’s flinch from where he sat, “You had the strongest guy in the world lay the groundwork for you..Don’t you dare lose again..”

“..I’ll work harder, so that I can beat you.” Deku replied softly.

“So, I really don’t want to interrupt this emotional moment, but Bakugou DID point out some important things.” Katsuki jolted and raised his head. You were standing just behind All Might, staring up at the tall man. “I think you need to explain some things.”

“A-Aleah? What are you doing here?!” Deku cried, and you glanced over at him. “I overheard Bakugou talk to you earlier at the dorms, and decided to follow. I’ve been here ever since you guys started talking. And I, uh, I heard everything. Sorry, but you don't have to worry about me snitching!” You turned back to All Might and crossed your arms. With a frown, Katsuki turned to him as well. “Alright, talk. Who else knows about you two?”

* * *

Toshinori started leading the trio of students back to the teacher’s dorms, listening in on the boys’ conversation. An amused huff left him, and he turned away from you all. He couldn’t help but notice you had firmly placed yourself between the two boys, stealing guarded glances at Young Bakugou every now and then.

Toshinori frowned.

_ -“How could you not have recognized the daughter of your greatest enemy?”- _

He had to admit, there were a lot of similarities between you two. But, there were just as many things that separated you from All for One. Now that he was thinking about it, your quirk may come from him,  _ if _ you were actually his child that is. All that power; the super strength and speed, the elemental manipulation, your blood, it makes sense for it to be from different quirks if you actually  _ did  _ have All for One’s quirk! Toshinori glanced back at your smiling face. He had to make sure you didn’t fall back into his hands. Now that he knew of you, All for One would stop at nothing to reclaim you if he ever escaped. 

“Hey, All Might?” He jolted and stopped, turning fully to you three. You were biting your lip, staring up at him. "Yes?"

"So, you said earlier that All for One can take quirks, right?" At his hesitant nod, you continued, rubbing your right wrist. "Why can't he take  _ One for All _ ? I mean, he wants it back, but for some reason, he hasn't taken it yet. He's been fighting all of the holders before, and here 'Zuku is with this overpowered quirk when he's had thousands of chances to take it from you."

Toshinori rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, he can't. Simple as that. I'm not quite sure how exactly, but it has something to do with the passing it down aspect of the quirk." You nodded and Toshinori turned back. After a few minutes of tense silence, the boys slowly picked up where they left off. Another minute passed by before Toshinori felt a presence appear beside him. He glanced down to see you, easily keeping up with his long strides. You looked up at him with a blank expression and leaned closer.

“You’re hiding something, aren’t you?” Toshinori almost tripped. He forced down the urge to cough, the blood seeping up his esophagus quickly. He swallowed it back down and blinked at you. “What makes you say that?”

You hesitantly shrugged. “‘Dunno...I tend to get ‘gut feelings’ a lot, and they’re never wrong. I have a feeling that you’re holding something back from us, and I wanna know what it is.” Toshinori looked away from you, sweat starting to bead at his temple. How the heck do you know that? “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” You tugged on his sleeve, bringing his attention back to you. “Yeah, ya do. Can you at least tell me if it’s going to hurt Izuku?”

Toshinori considered you for a long moment. You stared back at him, your (e/c) orbs eerily similar to All for One’s eyes. He could tell you were genuinely concerned for Young Midoriya, both the fact that you followed them out here to make sure nothing bad happened and the worried glint in your eyes cemented that. Plus, he could tell you were afraid of Young Bakugou’s quirk, yet you put yourself between the two earlier in case they tried to fight again. Which is why he was able to place a warm hand on your head and smile without the brief flash of fear that you could be a villain in disguise nagging at the back of his head. “No, I don’t think it will.” He watched as a tension he didn’t notice before seeped out of your shoulders all at once, and you nodded slowly. “That’s..that’s good.” And then you slowed enough to fall into place next to Young Midoriya, placing yourself in a good spot to separate the two if it came to it.

Toshinori turned back, leading the way back to the teacher’s dorms.

‘Yeah,’ He thought with a growing smile, ‘Even if she’s All for One’s daughter, there is no way she’s going to turn out the way he did. Not in a million years.’

* * *

You shuffled your feet as Aizawa scolded Izuku and Bakugou. You were nervously waiting for him to descend on you, and you winced when your classmates were given cleaning jobs to do for the next few days. That meant it was finally your turn.

Aizawa turned his tired glare to you, and you tried your best not to fidget under his hard stare. “And you. You followed them, but didn’t break the fight up. You  _ also _ broke curfew by doing so.  _ What  _ were you doing while they were pummeling each other?” Your shoulders slowly raised to your ears, and you averted your gaze from his penetrating one. You could practically feel everyone’s curiosity, and your fingers played with each other. “W-Well, I felt like neither of them were in danger of actually killing each other, so I stayed out of it. A-And, I may or may not have had a...p-panic attack during the fight..” You mumbled, instinctively slipping into English near the end.

It was silent for a minute before a hand appeared on your head. You flinched and glanced up briefly. Aizawa sighed and ruffled your hair for a second. “No technology for two days.”

Your face fell and you reached into your back pocket, handing him your phone. “Does that include Pandora as well?” He shook his head, but held out his other hand. You heaved a sigh and pulled out earbuds and an old fashioned MP3 player from your other pocket. You dropped them in his waiting hand and pouted. “You have more on you, don’t you?”

With a groan, you reached into your smallish bag by your hip and pulled out a Nintendo Switch and a tablet filled to the brim of news articles about the Akuma. You peered in there to see if you had more, but shrugged when your search came up empty. “Happy now?”

Aizawa cuffed you on the back of the head as he walked by you.

* * *

The next morning found you blearily making your way to school. Iida yelled as he ushered the class towards the assembly. You ignored Monama’s insanity inducing prideful jabs at your own class. At some point, someone had taken your hand and pulled you along with your class while you dozed off. It was warm, and you snuggled into their side.

You jolted awake when Nezu spoke into the microphone, yet you quickly dozed off again. You screeched, falling into Todoroki when Hound Dog barked madly into the microphone. He helped you stand up correctly as Hound Dog continued to snarl and snap. You heard several snickers around you, most from other classes while a few fond ones belonged to some of your classmates. You blushed and rubbed your eyes, trying to appear awake enough. Finally, Hound Dog ended his rant with a howl, and Vlad King stepped in to translate.

“Does he forget human speech when he gets angry?” Mineta whispered to Momo. “There’s still so much weird stuff at U.A. I don’t know about!” Momo sighed, holding her head with one hand. “Midoriya and Bakugou were doing well, but now they’re being treated like Problem Children.” You blinked and slowly raised a hand to Pandora’s screen, tapping your way to your text chats.

_ *You created a group chat with Strawberry and Overgrown Pomeranian* _

_ “So.” -You _

_ “Welcome to the club, boys! You’re officially Problem Children!” -You _

_ “..Uh, what?” -Strawberry _

_ “Look at the chat name, 'Zuku. I named it The Problem Children Club for a reason.” -You _

_ “Wait, how are you texting us??” -Strawberry _

_ “A magician never reveals her secrets!” -You _

_ “Fuck off, Pigtails!” -Overgrown Pomeranian _

_ “Nah.” -You _

You spotted Aizawa’s gaze getting dangerously close to you.

_ “Oop, gotta go!” -You _

_ “See ya later!”-You _

* * *

You plopped back into your seat and rubbed your eye. “Okay, starting today we’ll resume our regular classes and training schedule.” Oh fun. With a sigh, you slide your hand down to rest your cheek on it. “I know a lot has happened recently,” That was an understatement if you ever saw one, “However, you need to switch gears and focus on your school duties. We’re lecturing today, but this semester you’ll have even harsher training than before.” Even more fun!

You closed your eyes for a second, listening to Mina whisper to Tsuyu before Aizawa interrupted. Before he could get too far in scolding her, Tsuyu raised her hand. “Excuse me, sir! May I ask a question? What were those things the principal was talking about during the opening ceremony? I’ve never heard the term ‘Hero Work Studies’ before..” Oh? When was that brought up? You glanced over at Todoroki with a confused expression. He didn’t meet your eyes, and you shrugged.

Aizawa groaned to himself as the class started expressing their own confusion, turning to him expectantly. You plopped your chin in your hands, feeling your eyes glaze over. This was going to be a long school day, wasn’t it?

* * *

“CAN’T YOU CLEAN SOMETHING RIGHT, YOU IDIOT?!” 

“Right, sorry!”

You groaned, head lolling back as you made your way back into the common room with a banana in hand. Izuku turned to you with a very confused expression, and you raised an eyebrow. You opened your mouth to speak, yet Iida cut in with a higher voice than usual. “In just one day, I’ve been completely left behind! That’s what you’re thinking, right,  _ House Arrest _ ?” Both of you turned to see Iida standing in a ridiculous stance.

You snorted, dissolving into a fit of giggles as Iida scolded Izuku, almost dropping your banana in the process. “SHUT YOUR MOUTH! I HEARD YOU, FOUR EYES!” Izuku gathered the trash bags shortly after, and you finally managed to stop laughing as Izuku started walking outside with the bags. You skipped after him.

Izuku turned to you as you followed him outside. “Um, what are you doing?” 

“Hanging out with you.” You shrugged. “I kinda can’t spend time with you any other way until your house arrest is over, and I don’t think Aizawa would mind it as long as I don’t help you.” Izuku nodded with a hum. The both of you walked in silence, Izuku holding the bulging bags awkwardly while you ate your banana, trying to think of what to say to him. Soon, you finished and looked around for a trash can. “Hey, I’ll be right back, okay?” Your friend absent mindedly nodded, glaring down at the trash bags. With a sigh, you ruffled his hair and jogged away in your search of a trash can.

No way were you going to force Izuku to stop and open the heavy bags just to put in a banana peel. Just as you located one, you heard a scream from behind you. 

Dropping your banana peel, you jumped a foot in the air. You stumbled when you landed and swiftly pivoted to start running back to Izuku. ‘What was up with that scream?! Did an Akuma get inside?!’

You skidded to a halt to see Izuku stumbling back from a...face? There was a face in the ground...Why was there a face in the ground?  _ How was there a face in the ground?! _

You stared at the face in shock and confusion.

“Haha! I bet that was a freaky surprise for ya!” The face was saying. Izuku was still screaming. You slowly crept forward, quietly putting one foot in front of the other as you maneuvered into the face’s blind spot. Was this some sort of villain that slipped through the school’s defences? “Kinda sorry about that! Gotta admit, I  _ did _ pop up here because I thought you’d be shocked, though!” You narrowed your eyes as Izuku cautiously leaned forward.

“What in the world are you?!” At that, the smiling face laughed. “Not a bad question there, my friend! I admit, sometimes I even weird myself out! You know, once in a blue moon!” With a soft hum, you finally reached the face and leaned over it’s forehead, planting your hands on your knees to support you. The face looked surprised at your sudden appearance, though the surprise smoothed away from it’s features. A smile tugged at it’s lips farther, and it turned to look at Izuku. “But don’t worry, you’re gonna find out who I am soon enough! I’m just glad it looks like you’ve got a fighting spirit! You see, the truth is, people are talking about you, so I came to see what the fuss was about!”

Before it could disappear, you cut in with a half hearted glare. “You know, I don’t appreciate it when someone sneaks up on us like that. I thought a villain got into U.A. again when ‘Zuku screamed.” You tilted your head to the side. “I was about to stomp on your nose before I realized what was going on.” The face twitched and let out a strained laugh. “Ah, sorry about that! Didn’t mean to startle you, too!” And with that, the face sunk into the ground. You huffed and straightened, shaking your head at the ground. “Well, that was weird.” Izuku slowly nodded, and you sighed deeply. “I just found a trash can when you screamed! Now I have to go back and throw my banana peel away again!”

Izuku huffed out a distracted laugh, and you stepped closer to him. “Hey, you okay?” You leaned to the side, trying to find his eyes. He nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine! It’s just..I could have sworn I’ve seen him before..” You hummed and patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry, you’ll figure it out later.” And then you separated from him to find your discarded banana peel and throw it away properly.

* * *

A few days later, you were rubbing your eyes tiredly when Izuku, who was normally quiet and polite, came in. He bowed, yelling out an apology you didn’t quite catch, and you fell out of your seat from the sudden noise. A pair of hands caught you and prevented you from landing on Aithusa. With a groan, you pulled your feet under you and plopped back into your chair. You tiredly smiled at Todoroki in quiet thanks.

“Time to take your seats everyone.” You blinked and watched as everyone dove for their seats at Aizawa’s sudden appearance, Kaminari and Izuku tripping over themselves and desk chairs. You shifted in your seat while Aizawa moved to his spot behind the podium. “Morning. Now that Midoriya is back, we’ll go into more detail about what the work studies entail,” He glanced at the door, “Go ahead and come in.”

The door opened slowly. “I'll have people who’ve experienced them first hand explain.” Three teenagers walked in, and you stopped breathing for a split second. “I suggest you listen carefully as they point out how work studies differ from internships.” The teens stopped and turned to face your class, and you slowly leaned back into your chair, jaw falling open.

Blue eyes glanced at you while a mischievous grin split the blond boy’s face. “You have  _ got to be kidding me _ .” You muttered in English, manic giggles threatening to spill out of you. “These three are third years at U.A. They rank at the very top of our student body. You may know them as the  _ Big Three _ .”

* * *

Mirio flicked his gaze over to Midoriya before looking over the rest of the first years. In front of the green haired boy was an empty desk, and true to the rumors circulating around, there was an extra student. You. 

_ -Your piercing (e/c) eyes glared down at him. He fought against the shiver running down his spine, though, he wasn’t quite sure how successful he was. It was hard to feel your body when you’re permeating through hard ground...Why did he suddenly feel the urge to run..?- _

He wasn’t planning on running into you the other day, you had just appeared out of nowhere! He guessed your rumored “sixth sense” may exist after all...

Midoriya’s quickly growing reputation was loudly discussed in the halls and in-between classes, though your unique situation was murmured quietly in dorm rooms. Mirio let his thoughts briefly circulate around the utter mystery that is you while studying your classmates. You came out of nowhere and got into U.A. with one of the highest marks in the time the school has been open, somehow wriggled your way into the Hero course, and is in possession of an overpowered quirk that should probably not exist! And then there is your unnatural fighting skills. You’re just a first year, yet you fight like a seasoned Pro! Even All Might wasn’t that good when he was in U.A.! You shouldn’t even BE in this class! As far as Mirio knew, there were only supposed to be twenty students or less per class, but here you were being Class 1-A’s twenty-first student..the first extra student the school had..

..Maybe his classmates were a bit too paranoid, and it’s rubbing off on him, but there was something off about you that he couldn’t place his finger on. 

“Get to it.” Eraserhead cut into his thoughts. “Introduce yourselves briefly. Let’s start with Amajiki.” 

“..It’s no good.” Mirio glanced at his anxious friend. “You two go, I just can’t. Even if I try to imagine them as potatoes, I can see their human bodies..I know that they’re still people..no words are coming out..My mind is blank, and my mouth is dry..” Oh no.. “I can’t say anything..I wanna,” Tamaki abruptly turned around, planting his forehead against the wall, “Go home!” Mirio sighed fondly while Nejire laughed consolingly. She quickly introduced herself and Tamaki to the younger class.

“Hey are you wearing a mask?” Aaaand there she goes again! Mirio suppressed an amused snicker as Eraserhead growled. “This is completely irrational.” He flinched back at the teacher’s glare. “Oh, there’s no reason for you to worry, Eraserhead!” Mirio jabbed his thumb at himself repeatedly, slightly nervous. “I'm up next and I’ll get the audience refocused!” He turned back to Class 1-A with a giant grin. “The future is gonna be..!” He leaned forward, placing a hand near his ear as a cue to the class. Instead of the class answering back to him, he was met with silence.

“..Gonna be what..?” Mirio ignored the awkwardness crawling down his spine. “Awful!” He responded. “That’s your part guys!” The class of first years shared confused glances. “Well, crap! My call and response was a total fail!” Mirio laughed to himself, rubbing his head as the younger students murmured to themselves.

When he calmed enough to speak normally, he placed his hands on his hips. Time to educate these baby heroes! “Okay, you guys look like you have NO idea what’s going on! I guess we ARE third years who just showed up to your classroom to explain a program that’s completely voluntary. I can see how you’d be confused by that.” Mirio glanced around the room. Most of the students had their attention focused solely on him, however, he noticed that a few students seemed to not be paying any attention. The small boy behind Midoriya was staring at Nejire with drool trickling out of his open mouth, and curiously, there was you. You were leaning back into your chair, fingers intertwined in a piece of string and looking anywhere BUT Mirio. Hmm, that’s unexpected. Mirio hummed to himself. “You guys got your Provisional licences as first years, right? Huh. This batch of new students has proven to be pretty darn energetic!” He couldn’t stop the pride swelling up inside of him even if he wanted to. 

His grin spread wider on his face. “So the problem is you must not have a sense of humor! That’s why my joke didn’t land!” A snort came from the very back, and Mirio glanced over to you in time to see an amused smile flash on your face. Ah, so you WERE paying attention! Mirio, of course, didn’t hear Tamaki’s soft protest to the idea he just came up with.

“Heads up! The rad new plan is all you first years fight me at once!”

* * *

Mirio grinned while he stretched, ignoring Class 1-A as they filtered into the gym. “Is he..for real?” One of the boys asked, and Mirio cheerfully responded. “Oh yeah, tots real!” 

Tamaki, who had pressed his face into the nearest wall, called out, his voice muffled. “Mirio..you’re impossible. It would have been simple enough for us to just tell them; ‘This is what it’s like, this is what we learned from it.’ Not everyone has your level of drive. Plus,” The blond continued to stretch, “Think about how bad it’ll look if some of them can’t recover from fighting you. No one wants to spend the next few years in a hospital bed.” As the first years mumbled in confusion, Nejire glanced over at him from playing with the pink girl’s horns. “Hey, listen up! It’s story time!”

The students turned to her while she continued to fiddle with the girl’s horns. “Long ago, a student got frustrated in class and quit being a Hero and it was terrible for everyone! Did you know that? So, Togata, I know our job is tough, but you better make sure you know what you’re doing! Be careful, okay?”

“Please stop touching those…”

Mirio grinned to himself as Class 1-A turned back to him as a whole. “Let’s think about this,” One boy with a bird’s head stared at him, “You’re obviously much further ahead than us, but we’ve fought Pros before.”

“Not to mention we took down some legitimate villains. I don’t think you need to worry about hurting us.” Another boy cut in. Oh, now they were just getting cocky. “We’re not a bunch of wannabe’s.”

Mirio nodded, humming an affirmative. “Heard, but you’re gonna have to  _ show me _ that’s the truth! Now who’s gonna start this party!” He tilted his head to the side just as the redhead threw an arm up. “I’ve got this!” However, before he could get far, Midoriya stopped him. “No, I’m first!” The other teen whined. Mirio flexed his hands as Eraserhead called out to his class. “Oh, the Problem Child!” Midoriya’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Yes, this is  _ perfect _ ! I heard you’ve got  _ plenty _ of fire in ya!”

He watched as the teen stretched briefly before sliding into a fighting pose, his classmates preparing themselves. Oh..they probably should learn not to strategize right in front of the enemy..Guess he’ll have to teach them that!

Suddenly, Midoriya was flying at him, and Mirio activated his quirk. He felt his clothes slip off of him as Midoriya faltered. One girl screamed and Mirio jolted, bending down to put his pants back on. “Oopsie, my quirk is kinda tricky!” He took a deep breath and stood still with a smile on his face as Midoriya swung a foot at his head. The teen landed behind him, sliding to a halt, and Mirio glanced back at him. “Went for the face huh-?”

Several streams of...something interrupted him, phasing through his head and neck. Midoriya dodged out of the attacks’ way, and they hit the rocks with a loud boom. Smoke clouded the long distance fighters’ vision, and he took a breath, letting himself fall into the ground. He maneuvered himself to where he was behind the pack of students and deactivated his quirk. Mirio popped out of the ground. “I think I’ll start by taking out the long distance fighters!” The girl before him screeched again at the sight of his naked body. Unfortunately, that attracted her classmates’ attention, and they spun around and started attacking him again.

He heard another attack coming, and he let himself fall back into the ground before popping back up in front of the bird guy. Mirio slammed a fist into his stomach just as he spotted another student aim his elbows at him. Tape sprang out of them, and Mirio fell back into the floor, ducking under him to punch him as well. He slammed another punch into the stomach of the closest teen for good measure. He ducked under three long distance fighters and slammed his fists into them one by one. Falling into the ground again, Mirio popped up in the middle of a circle and punched all three teens in the gut, his fist phasing through a shield one of them made.

Quickly tying two first years together with one’s ear jacks, Mirio grabbed his pants and slipped them back on. He landed in a pose and yelled. “POWER!” He glanced back at the students he just took down. “Think that’s it for the long distance fighters,” He turned back to the rest of the class, “All that’s left are the ones who specialize in close quarters combat!”

“I have no idea how he just did that!”

“It’s one thing to be able to phase through stuff, but warping too?!”

“He’s unrivaled! Do we stand a chance?”

Mirio shifted into a fighting stance once more. “Hold the flattery!” Suddenly, Midoriya spoke up and curiously, the rest of the class who was still standing glanced back at him. “There’s more to his quirk than we’re seeing! Whether his true power is slipping through matter, or whether he’s somehow warping himself through space, either way he’s still landing his attacks directly! We should be able to counter him in the moment he’s about to make contact! Even if we can’t tell what he’s doing, we should theorize with what we  _ do _ know, and use that knowledge to find a way to beat him!” Holy cow, he’s smarter than Mirio thought! Mirio felt his grin growing wider in excitement. Man, this kid is gonna be a great Pro, huh? 

The rest of the class agreed, facing him once more. Mirio started running towards them. “Then see if you can figure out how to win!” Midoriya’s focused and determined gaze locked onto him as he ran, waiting for the right time to strike. Mirio activated his quirk once more and fell into the ground.

It was dark for a moment, and then he deactivated his quirk, stealthily popping up behind-wait a second. Midoriya is facing him again. ‘He wasn’t surprised?!’ His body glowed with his green lightning and Midoriya swung his foot out in a kick. ‘He predicted this is where I’d be! Pretty smart!’ He let his arm phase through Midoriya’s leg, reaching towards his chest.

“Watch this! An ultimate move!  _ Blinder Touch Eyeball Thrust _ !” His fingers shot towards Midoriya’s eyes and he, predictably, closed them in anticipation. Little did the younger student know, Mirio’s arm was still phasing through his body. So, Mirio swung himself under Midoriya when his hand went straight through his head and punched hard into the teen’s gut.

Mirio sank into the floor as Midoriya landed on his back. “I’ve discovered most people try to launch a counter attack just like you did, so naturally I trained to work around such moves! Nice try though!” He popped back up behind the boy with the engines on his legs and slammed a fist into him. He quickly took out the others as soon as the key players were down, giving them all the same treatment. He struck a pose and grinned. “POWER!”

Mirio looked over at the students of Class 1-A with a concerned smile. “Uh, hey, are you guys alright? Sorry, I have a habit of not holding ba-” Wait a second. Squinting in confusion, Mirio glanced over the downed students once more. He counted nineteen bodies on the floor, and the twentieth student stood by Eraserhead with a shocked look on his face. “Where did Walker go?”

Someone yelped from-was that above him?! And suddenly, a smaller body landed right on top of him, pinning him to the floor with a loud thud. Mirio grunted and attempted to phase through the floor, yet just as his legs fell into the ground, something wrapped around his chest, right below his armpits. He quickly realized three important things in the span of a few seconds.

The first; you had somehow managed to get up on the ceiling without him noticing, stayed there, somehow lost your grip, and fell on him right at the end. 

The second; your legs had wrapped around his body in a vice grip, clad in your signature boots.

The third, and last important detail; Mirio couldn’t phase through you at all. 

He was stuck.

_ How the ever living shit is he stuck?! _

“I am SO SORRY!” You screeched and twisted onto your back, preventing him from falling further into the floor. “I didn't mean to fall on you! I swear!” Mirio’s back, neck, and head sunk through your clothes and through the first layer of your skin, yet curiously stopped. You squeaked, and he immediately solidified those areas with a flush of red coloring his cheeks. Though, that didn’t shock you enough to where he could slip free. “Please just give up so we can get out of this situation!” You pleaded loudly. With a grunt, Mirio solidified his arms and tried to pry your legs apart. 

It didn’t work. Instead, your legs constricted tighter around him, reminding him of a boa constrictor. ‘Crap! If she continues, I’ll run out of air!’ Mirio thought, still struggling. “Please yield!” With a few more wiggles, Miro groaned and tapped your leg a few times. You immediately let go, and Mirio deactivated his quirk, swiftly slipping his pants back on while you scrambled away from him with a  _ very  _ red face.

Those of your classmates who had recovered enough weakly cheered, raising their fists in silent congratulations of your swift victory. Mirio clapped as he grabbed his discarded shirt, shrugging it on.

He eyed you curiously as you ran behind the other remaining first year. 

..He’ll have to keep an eye on you, huh? Something about you just felt off, and as an aspiring Hero, he should listen to that little bell in the back of his mind when it’s blaring.

* * *

“Holy shit, Walker! That was epic!” Kirishima slung an arm around your shoulders, punching your right one lightly. “The way you just dropped down on him was so cool!” You felt your blush return with a vengeance. 

“W-Well, I didn’t really mean to fall on him..it just happened..” You say nervously, rubbing your right wrist. “I actually meant to stay up there to avoid fighting him, but I spaced out and lost my footing..” Kirishima gave you a confused frown. “What? You didn’t want to fight him?!” The rest of your classmates glanced at you.

“Well,” Kaminari added, “I don’t really blame you for not wanting to join in at the end! Man, he was beating our butts good!” You flinched and glanced down. “Yeah..”

_ -A tall man with gray skin, dressed fancily in a suit and top hat, placed a hand on Allen’s arm. A blinding purple light overtook the hologram, and Allen’s screams of agony filtered through Timcanpy’s open mouth. His arm fell off while the purple light died down. The golden golem snapped his jaws shut when the recording ended with Allen weakly ordering Tim to fly away, his left arm nothing but dust as the Noah finished destroying the Innocence in the limb.- _

_ -”Miranda!” You caught the older woman before she could fall too far. She was panting heavily, her Innocence struggling to rewind the many wounds the other Exorcists were sustaining. Suddenly, your gut twisted sharply, the hairs on the back of your neck raising. _

_ There was something behind you. _

_ “All out of energy?” A hand wrapped around your throat, and your arms instinctually went up to pry the hand off. Miranda fell to the roof of the building in a heap, and the group of men flinched back at the sudden appearance of the Noah. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you recognized that voice. “A female Exorcist, huh? This is a first for me. Is that woman there alright? She overdo it?” The hand squeezed harder, cutting off your air supply completely.- _

_ -The man grinned down at Allen’s crumbled form as Allen held his injured head. “Thanks to you, I had to tolerate all that crap from Lord Millenioum and the brats.” _

_ “What are you-” Allen cut himself off, as if just realizing something important. The man leaned back, and his glasses phazed through his head, clattering to the stone street below. You gasped, hand covering your mouth as his skin darkened into a gray. It was the same Noah who tried to destroy Allen’s Innocence a month ago. The one who almost choked you to death right in front of three normal humans if Kanda hadn’t gotten there in time. _

_...The one who ultimately killed your master.- _

* * *

_ He couldn’t breathe.  _

_ Something climbed over his face, clogging his mouth and nose slowly. What is that? _

**_Doesn’t matter._ **

_ What happened? He was...where was he a moment ago? (Was it a moment ago, or was it years ago? He couldn’t tell. It felt like he was here for only a moment, but at the same time, it felt like it stretched on for ages.) _

**_Doesn’t matter. Just rest._ **

_ He could feel the muck climbing higher. Wait, didn’t it start out at his feet a minute ago? It moves so slowly...has he been stuck here for longer than he thought? _

**_Nothing is important. Just sleep a while more. You deserve it._ **

_...Sleep? He’s...dreaming? The muck was to his eyes now. Is he falling? _

_ Wait...something is hitting him.. _

**_Ignore it. Just continue resting. You’re almost there._ **

_ Almost where..? He’s definitely starting to slip into something. Should he..let go? The thumping object became more insistent.  _

_ What is that? (Why...does he feel like he should wake up? ..Wake up?) _

**_It’s not real. Ignore it. You’re almost there._ **

Jingle. Jingle. Jingle.

_ What..? _

Jingle. Jingle. Jingle.

**_Ignore it! You’re almost there! Just a few more seconds._ **

Jingle. Jingle. Jingle.

A frantic, mechanical beeping assaulted his eardrums, and he groaned. The muck was gone. His fingers twitched, and a sheet crumpled under his grip. People were shouting over the beeping, and something was softly hitting his hip. 

With another groan, he slowly peeled his eyes open. He hissed when the light stabbed them, blinking blearily. The light dimmed, and he was able to glance down at his body. Anything past his hips was too bleary, and he strained to make out a face of an older woman. She was getting closer to him, shouting frantically over her shoulder to others scurrying about.

Something thumped against his hip once more before stopping. He slowly moved his gaze down to his left hip. A giant bell sat innocently on his bed sheets, radiating a power that a normal bell should not have any right to possess. His eyes, once droopy in exhaustion, snapped fully open as he remembered.

On a peaceful day in the Isle of Man, deep inside the European H.Q. for the Black Order, Exorcist Daisya Barry woke from a year long coma. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry about the few long scenes that are almost exactly like canon. my sibling wanted me to do a Katsuki POV, and just like Mirio's POV, i couldn't figure out a way to cut it short where it DOESN'T feel like i'm just repeating things. i'm also sorry about not posting anything in the past three months. writers block is hitting me hard, but i'm trying to get things done as fast as possible! and unfortunately, the next few chapters are gonna be a little shorter than usual. sorry about that.
> 
> and yay! another chess piece is back in the game! you're welcome D.Gray Man fans! for those of you who DON'T know what i'm talking about, SPOILER ALERT, Daisya Barry dies pretty early on in the story. so, i couldn't decide if i wanted to keep him dead or change his death to just slipping into a coma, and then my siblings went with the second option. 
> 
> (the one thing i don't like about this chapter is the last scene, but i don't know how to change it to make it better, so...i guess it's gonna stay that way?)
> 
> and thanks to SomniumOfLight, you all are one step closer to figuring out the Reader's, and by extension, Allen's, quirk! they guessed that Aleah's real quirk is a sort of empowering quirk, and i guess it kinda is? it can affect both herself and others around her. however, Allen's quirk does NOT have this feature. and seeing as it's my birthday, i'm feeling a little generous, so i'll give you guys a little hint to help; you should DEFINITELY pay more attention to whenever Aleah or others near her are in danger. (this will also be important when i start showing off Allen's quirk, so remember this hint!) also, if you have any theories about their quirks, just drop it in the comments and i'll let you guys know if you were right or not!
> 
> and finally, i hope you all liked this chapter! seeing as Texas got hit with a snowstorm (i swear it happened) a lot of people were out of power, out of water, or had no internet when school was SUPPOSED to come back up thanks to the snow, so i REALLY hope you all stay safe out there! have a great day/night, and please remember that you're all AWESOME! XP


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